Yu-Gi-Oh's White Christmas
by Queen Nephthys
Summary: A parody of White Christmas. Successful song-and-dance team Seto Kaiba and Mahad Sehhr become sidetracked in Vermont on their way to New York, and reunite with their old commanding general from their war days. Unfortunately, the inn that he now owns with his brother is failing. Can they, with the help of two lovely sisters, save the inn? Mizu/Blueshipping and Pleashipping!
1. Christmas on the Battlefield

Hi, it's Queen Nephthys back from the dead once again. With college going on winter break, I thought I'd have plenty of time this year to do a full multi-chaptered fanfic for the holidays! This one will be a Yugioh version of Irving Berlin's White Christmas, one of my absolute favorite Christmas stories! As per usual with all of my Yugioh fanfiction, almost all of the characters appearing will only be from the Millennium World/Dawn of the Duel arc. Although I might have Mokuba appear, I don't know yet.

Anyway, as usual, the pre-story author's notes:

This story will not be taking place in 1953 like the actual White Christmas does (I don't know if that was actually when it was taking place, but it was when the movie first came out.), or in ancient Egypt; it will take place in modern times. So sorry if anyone is confused at all about why they're talking about modern day technology.

The war my "Wallis and Davis" are fighting in at the beginning isn't World War II, obviously. It's an undisclosed enemy, just like in the actual story, even though you know it's World War II times, they never mention who they're fighting. This same rule will apply in this chapter. Just let your imagination fill in who the war is with. The Middle East. China. The Zombie Apocalypse! You get the idea. (Though personally zombie apocalypse is my favorite!)

I don't think I'll specify the pairings right now until the "Hanes Sisters" come in. By then it should be obvious who's going with who. But if you've read any of my previous work, you should be able to guess at least **_one_ **of the pairings!

That's all I can think of for now. I'll try to update at least once a day, since I want this finished before Christmas. I hope you all enjoy this!

* * *

It was Christmas Eve. All throughout the world there was celebration. Snow was falling, bells were ringing, and people were singing. In the homes of thousands, decorations were hung. Twinkle lights blazed, both inside and out. Festive tchotchkes were set on every table, shelf and mantle next to greeting cards and stockings. Out of all the decorations, none shone more-so than the Christmas trees, surrounded by piles of presents. Tonight some families would get together for a Christmas Eve celebration at their homes. Children would be playing in the snow, and begging their parents to open just _one_ present early. Cookies were being baked for Santa Clause, and festive dinners were being eaten. Others would spend the night at the bar or a restaurant, celebrating with their friends or coworkers instead, since they'd be meeting with their families the next day. Some people were still last minute shopping, and some workers were still putting their time in. Many people filled in the pews of Churches, even standing outside in the snow to greet the Baby Jesus. Regardless of who or where you were this day, everyone was celebrating. The old, the young. The rich, the poor. The thankful, the hopeful. Those at peace...

...and those at war.

Yes, even on the battlefield, many soldiers found the need to celebrate the holidays. After all, many had gotten Christmas cards from their loved ones back home, some even got presents! There was plenty of gin, cocoa and cider to go around. Singing and dancing filled the camp. Someone had even managed to get a fake tree into the camp!

The best part, however, had to be the show being put on by Captain Seto Kaiba. Back home before the war, the Kaiba name was worth millions, but while his father's company made good money, the young military captain had made his millions in the performing arts. There wasn't a single person in America that didn't know who Seto Kaiba was. And the other soldiers were more grateful than ever to have someone with his talent and connections in their division. Kaiba had taken every possible step to put on a Broadway worthy Christmas Show for the troops. A fully equipped stage that could make Kiss jealous had been brought in and assembled all day by the entire camp. For the last two weeks flyers had been passed around asking for musicians to play certain instruments. They had been lucky to get a guitarist, pianist and a drummer out of the whole camp, and the instruments had been express delivered. Everything was hooked up to amplifiers, and they had some technical specialists standing by to make sure that everything would run smoothly. Spotlights and curtains were put up. The curtains were silkscreened with the scene of a small rural town covered in a blanket of wintry snow. The fake tree was placed on one side of the stage, and the band on the other.

It was sort of an open mic affair. Anyone who had an act could sign their name on a sheet of paper located at the front of the stage by the stairs, and sit in the front row of the audience, waiting to be called onto the stage by Seto.

Right now, the last person on the list was on stage, doing a sort of combination dance-and-magic act. Seto didn't remember his name from the list, nor did he ultimately care. The man was tall, perhaps even taller than himself. That said something, considering Seto was 6 foot 1. He had long brown hair, currently tied back in a ponytail, and topped with a Santa hat. In fact, he was wearing the whole stupid Santa Clause ensemble. Just under his bangs were a pair of dark violet eyes. In spite of the utter fool he believed him to be making of himself on stage, those eyes remained focused on what he was doing, betraying no emotion or deception to his almost literally captive audience. That was perhaps the one positive thing that Seto could say about him: he could tell that when this guy had a goal, he stuck with it until what he set out to do was accomplished. That trait was hard to find in most people nowadays. Although Seto still thought his act was lame (_magic_, of all things. What a joke!), the crowd of soldiers were going crazy for it. Some of the women were even acting as though he was the lead singer of some cheesy boy band singing a love song. And although Seto's thoughts were of how much of an idiot the soldier was, his foot was still, nonetheless, tapping to the up-tune beat the band was playing to go along with the act.

~Q.N~

While all of this excitement was going on, none of the concert's spectators took notice to an army jeep driving through the camp. Catching sight of the action, one of the passengers aboard the jeep tapped the shoulder of the sergeant driving the vehicle.

"Stop the jeep, Sergeant!" he called, having to yell over the roar of the crowds to be heard. The Sergeant did as he was told, coming to a halt and giving the four passengers a clear view of the entertainment.

The first man to speak looked over the antics of the camp with a face of stone. He held an air of authority and control as he continued, "What's this all about, Captain Akhenaden?!" he shouted, glaring at the man in the front of the jeep, next to the driver.

"A little entertainment for the men, sir." Akhenaden said as he turned to his superior. He was an older man, close to his late 40s, with graying black hair, and stern, dark eyes that betrayed his typically compassionate nature. Although he was a bit embarrassed by the overall display made by his division, he couldn't blame them for celebrating. "Tonight's Christmas Eve." he stated, as though the man he was addressing was unaware of this fact. He may very well have been.

The man scoffed, and then turned to the final man with them, the commanding general of the outfit. Well, that wasn't entirely accurate. After all, he was being replaced first thing tomorrow. "These men are moving up tonight, General Akhenamkhanen!" He reminded the general. He had no lack of trust or respect for the highly decorated man; Akhenamkhanen's military prowess was well known to everyone in the army. Still, the old fool could sometimes be a bit soft on his men, and the result was this disgraceful mess. "They should be lined up for full inspection."

General Akhenamkhanen regarded the harsh, chastising tone used by his fellow general with kind eyes and an almost smile beneath his grayed facial hair. "You're absolutely right." he agreed. "There's no Christmas in the army, Captain." he said to the captain in the front seat, his younger brother.

Akhenaden sighed. "Yes, sir." he agreed, though he knew that neither one of them believed this for a moment.

General Akhenamkhanen turned back to the other general, "There's always a slip-up or two during a change in command." he explained. "The men get a little loose... I know I'm leaving them in good hands."

"Thank you, General." the man said as Akhenamkhanen and his brother exited the jeep. He then turned to face the driver. "Sergeant, take me to headquarters immediately." he commanded, as he climbed into the front passenger's seat that Akhenaden had previously filled. "You'll have those men turned out on the double."

"Oh, Sergeant." Akhenamkhanen called, walking around to the driver's side of the jeep, patting the sergeant on the shoulder, "Take the shortcut."

"Yes, sir." the sergeant agreed, before driving off with an incredibly disgruntled looking general. The two brothers watched as the jeep left the camp, making a right once they had left.

Akhenaden smiled. "That's not the way back to headquarters."

Akhenamkhanen grinned, turning to his brother, "Akhenaden, you know that, and I know that, but the General doesn't know it. At least he won't for about an hour and a half."

Akhenaden laughed dryly. "That sergeant will be a private in the morning." he stated.

"Yes." General Akhenamkhanen agreed. "Isn't he lucky?"

Giving a final glance back to where the jeep had driven off, the two turned and made their way towards the concert. When they came into view of the other troops, the soldiers in the back rows made to stand in salute of their general, but Akhenamkhanen quickly motioned for them to remain in their seats. Looking around, he found two vacant seats near the center aisle, and he and Akhenaden took them, turning to face the stage. Just as they sat down, the band began to play, and Seto came on stage. The captain was dressed in his military uniform, but had taken his helmet off, revealing his brown hair. He held the helmet over his chest as though he were about to say the American pledge, but instead what came out of his lips was an old Christmas carol, that was dear to every soldier there.

_"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas;_

_Just like the ones I used to know;_

_Where the treetops glisten;_

_And children listen;_

_To hear sleigh bells in the snow;"_

Throughout the audience there wasn't a single person that wasn't impacted by the song. Many had silent tears falling down their cheeks. Many more were smiling in happy reminiscence of Christmases past. Others had their heads bowed, almost in reverence to the song. Most stared on neutrally, however, all of their emotions being kept inside through memories of their childhoods, of the families they left behind at home, and of the loved ones waiting for their return. The soldier who had done his act before Seto went on was smiling wistfully, thinking about his family back home, his parents and little sister, and their old dog. In the back of the audience General Akhenamkhanen thought about his family, his wife and young son. He remembered dancing to this song with his wife one Christmas, and another when it was on the radio as they were driving to Vermont to go sledding with Atem when he was five.

_"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas;_

_With every Christmas card I write;_

_May your days be merry and bright;_

_...And may all your Christmases be white."_

In the crowd, near the back, Seto noticed a helmet bearing two stars on it, belonging to his commanding general. He smirked. This probably wasn't going to end well for him. Ah, well! He had known that the minute he had set up this Christmas party. Can't keep something this big from someone like General Akhenamkhanen. Yeah, he'd get in trouble, he'd probably even be demoted to a private. He didn't care. He wasn't going to be remembered in this war for any deeds of great heroics. What he would be remembered for, by every single member of this outfit, was putting on the biggest, most elaborate Christmas concert for them. That's all that mattered to him: the recognition! That was why he was in show business to begin with. Christmas in itself, he could care less! He wasn't even Christian, didn't believe in any god, or angels, or some kid being born to save humanity. The whole holiday was just one big scam by the mega corporations, much like his wealthy step-father's, to get people into their stores, and buy things that they normally wouldn't want. And that's why employees were still forced to work on Christmas: because it was all a get rich quick scam! But if it got him his fifteen minutes of fame in this war-torn country by singing a few jingly feel-good songs to some war-weary troops, then he was alright with this.

Besides, he still had something to give to the General.

"Well," he began, speaking into the microphone, "that just about wraps it up, ladies and gentlemen. Certainly too bad General Akhenamkhanen couldn't have been here for this Yuletide... stuff." this got a few laughs out of some of the audience members; everyone knew how much Seto detested anything revolving around what he considered to be a 'hallmark holiday'. "Yeah, it's a real shame. Some of your fellow troops, myself included, had put together what you might call a farewell salute for him. I guess you all know by now that he's being replaced by a new commanding general fresh out of the Pentagon." he scoffed at this, letting his feelings regarding this change-up be known. "Not really what we were expecting for Christmas, huh? Especially since our division is moving up tomorrow. Meanwhile, the old man's moving in the opposite direction. That's a direction he's never taken in his entire life. Well, while I could go on about this, all I'll say is that I owe a lot to General Akhenamkhanen, and to the way..."

"Attention!" Akhenamkhanen suddenly shouted out, standing for the whole camp to see. Immediately all the troops got to their feet in salute. Akhenamkhanen and Akhenaden walked down the aisle towards the stage. Seto smirked. He'd wondered how long it would take for the old man to come out of hiding. As the General walked onto the stage, Seto maintained his air of coolness and control. As did the General. Between the two of them, it was almost hard to tell who was _really _in charge!

"Captain Kaiba," Akhenamkhanen demanded as he walked onto the stage, Akhenaden right behind him. "Who's responsible for holding such an event in this advanced area?"

Seto's smirk only broadened. "Well, sir, as a matter of fact..."

"It was me, sir!"

Three shocked faces turned towards the front row of seats, where one of the soldiers was now standing in front of the others, eyes directed at his superiors while all the others around his were staring at him like he were crazy. Seto raised an eyebrow as well, recognizing this soldier as the brown haired young man who had done the act before him, yet not understanding his reason for attempting to take the credit for this. The man was a virtual stranger to him, and there was no reason for him to be accepting blame for something that was entirely his idea! He knew that this guy was an idiot, but this had to be the dumbest stunt that anyone could pull; General Akhenamkhanen already knew that Seto was behind this. What could this guy's motives possibly be?!

"It was my idea sir." the man confirmed again. He smiled. "I mean, when you've got an entertainer, sir, like of the caliber of Captain Kaiba, sir...I mean, sir, it's Christmas Eve, sir, and... Well, sir, I mean that if you were in New York, sir, you'd have to pay 600, or even 800 to see or hear a great celebrity like the Seto Kaiba, sir."

By this point, half of the soldiers were rolling their eyes, and the other half were trying to hold back their laughter. Seto, otherwise, was counting in his head all of the times the word 'sir' was used by the man to address the captain. Talk about a suck-up. And what was all of this emphasis on his career? Was this guy some sort of depraved fanboy or something?

Akhenamkhanen maintained a neutral stance throughout the entire session, finally cutting in when he realized that this soldier's rant was clearly going nowhere. "I am well aware of Captain Kaiba's capabilities." he said. "So who are you?"

"Mahad Sehhr, sir!" the man said with a salute. "Private first class, sir!"

Akhenamkhanen nodded in acknowledgement. "Well, at ease, Sehhr."

"Yes, sir!" Mahad exclaimed, though his stance did not change.

"I said, 'at ease'." Akhenamkhanen repeated, earning several snickers from the other soldiers.

Mahad flustered, and immediately dropped his hand back to his side. "Oh...uh, yes, sir. Thank you, sir." he muttered, stepping back into place with the rest of the audience.

Akhenamkhanen nodded and took the mic from Seto before turning to face the rest of the troops with a stern glare. "This division is now under the command of General Harold G. Carlton. I don't want you to forget it. Not that he'll let you. He's tough. Just what this sloppy outfit needs!" his voice boomed into the mic. "He'll have you standing inspection night and day! You may even learn how to march! And if you don't give him everything you've got, I may come back and... and fight for the enemy." He smiled. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas!" The entire camp chorused.

Akhenamkhanen's smile faded as he tried to find the words to say to these brave men whom he had fought with since the start of this war, all of which had become dear friends to him. "Well, I guess all I can say is how much I..." he paused. "What a fine outfit. How am I going...?" But he could say no more. His brain was suddenly clouded, and his tongue was tied in impossible knots. Sighing, he turned to Akhenaden. "Don't just stand there, Akhenaden. How do I get off?"

Before Akhenaden could reply, his fellow captain cut in. "We just so happen to have a farewell salute on hold for you, sir." Seto said, nodding to the band. The band nodded back, and suddenly trumpets and drums began to play in the tune of an old army march. From the front two rows, the soldiers, including Mahad, quickly filed onto the stage behind Akhenamkhanen, and began marching in place, while singing what was indeed a final Salute to their general.

_"We'll follow the old man wherever he wants to go;_

_Long as he wants to go;_

_Opposite to the foe!"_

_"We'll stay with the old man wherever he wants to stay;_

_Long as he stays away;_

_From the battle's fray!"_

_"Because we love him!_

_We love him!_

_Especially when he keeps us on the ball!"_

_"And we'll tell our kids we answered duty's call;_

_With the grandest son-of-a-soldier of them all!"_

As their song continued, Akhenamkhanen walked down the center aisle, shaking hands with his soldiers as he went. Some offered words of good luck to him, and most simply gave reassuring smiles.

The moment was short lived, however, as the sound of planes went flying by overhead. The soldiers immediately ducked for cover, listening as the impact of a bomb hit miles away from them. Slowly, the camp began to rise to their feet again, and softly continue their song.

_"We'll stay with the old man wherever he wants to stay;_

_Long as he stays away from the battle's fray!"_

_"Because we love him!_

_We love him!_

_Especially when he keeps us on the ball!"_

_"And we'll tell our kids we answered duty's call;_

_With the grandest son-of-a-soldier of them all!"_

When Akhenamkhanen had reached the last row of seats, he turned to face his men, and saluted them. The soldiers did the same. Taking one final look around, the General turned and left with Akhenaden right behind him. A jeep came by, and they got on, heading back to the headquarters to await their next assignment. The soldiers watched them leave until they were out of sight.

No sooner had the jeep left when another barrage of planes flew overhead, releasing more bombs onto the camp. This time the planes would hit their target, and the camp would be hit by a onslaught of the enemy force. Throughout the confusion, Seto was in the midst of it all, calling out orders to the rest of the camp to duck for cover. Private Mahad found himself next to Seto, looking to the skies in an attempt to locate the enemy planes. Instead what he saw was a part of the stage breaking apart, about to fall down on Seto! Thinking fast, Mahad pushed them both out of the way of the falling stage. Though they had both made it out, some of the stage equipment hanging onto the part of the stage that fell had hit Mahad in the shoulder, hard, and the impact sent a wave of pain through his entire arm.

Through all the dust and debris that was now hanging in the air, Seto managed to cough out, "You ok, Sehhr?"

"Yeah." Mahad wheezed. "I'm alright, sir. It's just my arm, sir."

"Ok, shut up with the 'sirs', or I might just shoot you myself." Seto groaned.

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir."

Choosing to ignore those last two 'sirs', Seto leaned over and examined Mahad's arm. "Doesn't look too bad," He stated. "It's probably just in shock."

"You sure about that?" Mahad said. "I can't feel anything."

~Q.N~

A week after the incident, Seto decided to go see Mahad, who had been transported to the nearest M.A.S.H. unit after the camp had been cleaned up and their emergency vehicles were able to get to them. Well, a week had gone by and no word of what became of Mahad had gone through their camp, so Seto reluctantly decided to go and find out for himself. Not that he really _cared_ what happened to the guy, he could be dead for all he cared. Still, Mahad _had _saved his life; this was perhaps the very least he owed the soldier.

Entering the tent that held the wounded, Seto quickly picked out Mahad Sehhr, lying on one of the beds. His right arm was bandaged and in a sling over his shoulder, but otherwise he looked okay. When he noticed Seto, he almost did a double take, and smiled cheerfully. It made Seto want to gag.

"I almost thought you'd all forgotten about me." Mahad said.

Seto scoffed. "Hard to forget anyone as stupid as you." he snapped. "Well anyway, how you doing, Private?"

Mahad shrugged. "Pretty good; can't complain." he chuckled. "Not with so many hot nurses tending to my every need."

_Well, that gets rid of __**one**__ theory_. Seto thought to himself. "Lucky bastard. I came here to thank you for risking your life to save mine, but it looks like all you did was cheat me out of living a lifestyle I've grown accustomed to."

Mahad laughed. "What can I say; it was a life worth saving."

"Hn. Yeah right. Who taught you how to bullshit like that?"

"My mother. She does an excellent job of it with my dad, too."

In spite of himself, Seto found himself laughing a bit. This guy had to be the biggest piece of crap he'd ever met. His ego wanted him to walk out of there on the double. Unfortunately, his pride told him to stay. He had to listen.

"Well, I appreciate your efforts anyway, soldier. If I had been in your place, I would have let me go."

Mahad shook his head. "Well, that's too bad. I'm sorry I can't live up to your expectations, sir."

Was that sarcasm? Honesty? Bitterness? Seto couldn't tell. That bothered him. Most people, he could read within a few sentences. This guy, he'd been trying to figure him out for the last week now, and he still didn't know what his deal was. For Seto, it was a pride issue, and it hurt. Bad.

"You think you're better than me or something? Because you're willing to die just so some guy you don't even know could go on to live as a complete screwup?"

"I didn't say that..."

"Well, let me tell you something, pal. Seto Kaiba does not owe debts to anyone, but you saved my life. So now I owe _you_! So what do you want me to do about it?"

Mahad frowned. "I don't want anything from you. I just did what I thought I had to do. Why does it have to be about wanting something?"

Seto leaned forward, Glaring daggers at the other man. "Because that's how I say it is. So what do you want? Money? A house? A girl?"

Mahad sighed. "There's just no talking to you, is there?" he asked dryly.

Seto sneered. "I already told you, Seto Kaiba doesn't owe debts to anyone. And as long as you've saved my life, I'm obligated to you."

Mahad raised his hands up. "Fine, fine, I get it; you're a self righteous dick!" he paused. "Well, I suppose there _is _one small thing that you could do to pay me back."

Seto raised an eyebrow. "Well, what is it?"

Mahad sighed. "Well, sir, I've kind of, well... written this song, and since you're in the entertainment field, I wonder if you could run it by some people, maybe even sing it yourself. I mean, like I said at the concert, everyone in the US knows who Seto Kaiba is, so, if you sing it, it's sure to be a hit. I mean, when this war is all over with, of course."

Seto raised his brow. "That's it?" he asked skeptically. For his connections, that was nothing. To say this guy was simple was an understatement.

Mahad nodded. "That's it."

Seto contemplated it for a bit longer, before finally nodding in agreement. "Not a problem; just e-mail me the song the first chance you get when you're back home, and I'll give it to some friends in the industry."

Mahad beamed. "Awesome; thanks!" He exclaimed.

Seto nodded to this and turned to leave, but before he could make it away, Mahad grabbed the sleeve of his jacket with his good arm. "Actually, Captain, if you're interested, I happen to have a copy of the song right here." he said, pulling a few sheets of paper out from under the pillow on his bed.

Seto paled a bit. "So you keep a copy of it with you?" he asked, taking the paper from him.

Mahad smiled weakly, and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, well, you never know when you might run into someone." he explained.

"Hm." Seto groaned, but nonetheless began reading over the notes and lyrics of the song. It was actually pretty good, not some cheesy love song or techno crap all played out on a synthesizer like most of today's artists did, but Seto did notice one very big problem with it. And he was quick to point it out.

"You _do _realize that this is a duet; for two people to sing?" he asked.

Mahad nodded. "Yeah, it need two people. Two dynamite entertainers."

Seto rolled his eyes. "That's just it, though. I work alone. I'm a single act."

Mahad gave him a sideways glace, flashing a businessman-worthy smile. "Sure you can't negotiate?"

Seto gave a agitated sigh. At this point, he was just completely fed up with Mahad, and was willing to do anything to get away from him. "Alright." he said. "Let's say I agree to do a duet with someone. Clearly you want me to be one half of this dynamic duo you've envisioned for this song you've wrote. So who would you have for the other stick of dynamite?"

Truthfully, Mahad would rather have _Randy freaking Newman_ sing his song than anyone even half as much of an arrogant prick as Seto 'screw the rules' Kaiba! Unfortunately, the odds of him ever meeting someone so famous and talented again was a long shot. He'd take what he could get! Not that he'd tell Kaiba that. "Well," Mahad began. "I happen to know a guy, Captain. Not really Broadway famous, but he's pretty well known where I come from. I've been told he's got a pretty sexy voice, good for singing, and...well..." Mahad shook his head, smiled and pointed to himself. "Me."

"Not happening." Seto said. "As 'sexy' as I'm sure your voice is to your younger male audiences, I'm a solo act."

Mahad's brow creased. "Was that... supposed to be a gay joke?" he asked, uncertain.

Seto glared. "Not. Happening." he stated matter-of-factly. "I'll send in your song to a friend of mine in Los Angeles, but that's where I draw the line. I wouldn't be caught dead in a two-man boy band with someone like you."

Mahad seemed outwardly disappointed, but still nodded in approval. "Alright, then. It was worth a shot. Thanks anyway, Captain. I mean," he said as Seto made to leave the tent, grabbing his arm in the sling. "I wouldn't want you to feel any sort of special obligation to me."

Seto stopped in his tracks, digging his nails into his palms. He wasn't going to turn around. He _wasn't _going to turn around!

He turned around, heading back towards Mahad's bed. Mahad looked up at him, expectantly, hopefully.

"Alright, Dynamite, I'll give you _one_ chance to sell your idea to me once we get back home. If it works, you're in. If it doesn't, you're paying for your own ride back home, you got it?"

Mahad smiled. "Definitely, sir!" he exclaimed, shaking the captain's hand. "You won't regret this, I promise you. I'm gonna turn you previous millions into _billions_, you have my word!"

Seto rolled his eyes again. "Whatever. Just don't expect me to be your 'buddy' at the end of this. And don't waste my time if you realize you aren't cut out for the limelight." That was all Seto said, and he left the tent. After taking a few steps, however, Seto realized something:

_He shook my hand with his' __**injured**__' arm!_

Suddenly, all the pieces of Private Mahad Sehhr fit into place, and Seto finally understood that this guy had had a plan right from the start. And he had gotten exactly what he had wanted out of Seto Kaiba.

Instead of going back into the medical tent and giving Mahad a _real_ broken arm, Seto instead smirked, and continued walking back towards the jeep that would take him back to camp. Maybe Mahad wasn't such a waste of time after all. It took a real underhanded bastard to pull the wool over Seto Kaiba's eyes. Fortunately for him, those were the same people that Kaiba held in high regard. He just hoped he had the talent to back up those businessman-like tactics.

* * *

There's chapter 1 for you!

So, here's the character list so far: Seto as Bob Wallis; Mahad as Phil Davis; Akhenamkhanen as General Waverly; and Akhenaden is going to be taking Emma's place later on in the story when he and Akhenamkhanen make their reappearance.

On a side note, who else thinks that Seto is perfect to take the role of Wallis for this?! I mean, both of their characters are sad, lonely, bitter old men! XD

Think you know who's going to take the place of Betty and Judy? Well, anyway I hope you enjoyed the beginning of this fic, and I hope I aroused your interest enough to keep reading it. As usual, if anyone wants me to draw fanart, tell me and I'll post it on deviantART.

R&R at your leisure.

p.s.; If anyone wants to find the actual songs on YouTube, type in **Bing Crosby White Christmas** for the White Christmas song, and** watch?v=4DC7FDsVPhU **for The Old Man. Every song in the movie was beautiful, so I think you'd really enjoy seeing the real thing if you've never watched the movie before.


	2. Kaiba and Sehhr

Ok, first off, I am SOSOSOSSOSOSOSOSOOOOO sorry I haven't updated at all this weekend. I had a family getogether to go to Saturday, and Sunday my dad took us to get a Christmas tree and go shopping. In addition, I had to work on my final projects for my classes, so I've been legitimately busy. The same thing will probably happen next week as well, since I'll be going to my cousin's wedding. Still, I'll try to catch up to where I want to be today and go from there. I still have my personal goal to finish this before Christmas, after all!

Anyway, the important author's notes:

So this is chapter 2. Chapter 1 was sort of a prologue, even though I don't call it that, and this one takes place five years after the fact. The war with IraqChinaZombies is over, and everything from now on will take place on the east coast of the United Stated. We're starting off in Florida.

On a side note, I hope I did a good job of keeping Kaiba in character. As cynical as Bing Crosby's character is in the actual White Christmas, Kaiba is ten times worse, so I hope I made him believably bitchy enough. XD Which reminds me, as the only **warning for this chapter**, I will say, beware of Seto's foul language. You've been warned.

Actually, that's the main reason I didn't use _Blue Skies_ at the beginnig of this chapter. I thought it was too much of a happy-go-lucky song for Kaiba to sing, so I replaced it with part of a poem I did in middle school. It seemed much more appropriate for Kaiba to sing.

Not much else to say, and I'm tired from staying up all night working on this, so here's chapter 2:

* * *

5 years later...

_"I scream and cry, where is the light?_

_Why must my heart be filled with this heavy burden?_

_Why is this a place which my eyes alone can only see?"_

_"I look inside, to find the light;_

_For it is there, behind a door long forgotten;_

_And our trust is all we need;_

_And I plea, just take my heart!"_

_"Time stops itself, and again we start!"_

As their song ended, Seto and Mahad made their way off the stage with a standing ovation, not for the first time, and certainly not the last. Entering backstage with the other actors and dancers in their show, Seto headed to their dressing room, while Mahad had stopped to talk to his younger sister, Mana, and another girl that Seto didn't recognize. Either she was new, or a local stand-in. He didn't care either way.

"Hey, Mahad!" Mana called before he could follow Seto into their dressing room. Mahad turned to her and nodded in acknowledgement.

"Yeah; what's up, kid?" he asked.

Mana smiled, gesturing towards the new girl. "I think I got you a winner this time. This is the new girl we got to replace Eliza, Tea Gardner."

"Hi." Tea said. Mahad quickly looked her over. Brunette, shoulder length hair. Blue eyes. Big, white smile. Dancer figure. Pretty enough. He smiled. She'd do fine.

"Tea and I went to high school together, remember?" Mana asked. "We were in drama club together, and she was a cheerleader. Her favorite book is the same as Seto's!"

Mahad tilted his head. "Were you the one that slept over at our house that kicked me in the jaw when you were doing a summersault?" he asked.

Tea nodded meekly. "Yeah... sorry about that." she said.

Mahad beamed. "Tea!" he exclaimed, pulling her into a quick hug. "I thought you looked familiar!"

Mana stepped in front of her brother. "Well?" she inquired.

Mahad nodded. "Perfect, thanks."

"All dancers on stage! On stage, ladies! Finale!" One of the assistants called as he passed by the crowds on the way to Seto and Mahad's dressing room.

Inside, Seto was looking over some old newspaper clippings, photos and posters Mahad had tacked together on a giant door-sized cardboard backdrop, a testament of their success since their return from the war:

**It's all over, over there! Military to return home!**

**Kaiba and Sehhr to team!**

**Noted singer takes partner!**

**Kaiba & Sehhr smash biz in better bistros!**

**Kaiba - Sehhr Act Boffo!**

**Kaiba & Sehhr Top Radio Network Poll!**

**Kaiba and Sehhr to Produce?!**

**Seto Kaiba and Mahad Sehhr**

**Present a new musical revue**

**Playing Around**

**music by Seto Kaiba lyrics by Mahad Sehhr**

**The Florida Theater **

**Proudly Presents **

**Seto Kaiba and Mahad Sehhr **

**in **

**Playing Around **

**Original NY cast **

**2 years on Broadway **

**Music by Seto Kaiba Lyrics by Mahad Sehhr. **

**December 10th - 12th**

That last one was taken from their current act in Florida. Seto stared at the collage of the career he and Sehhr had made over the last 5 years, almost disbelievingly. In spite of all Seto's business sense, ultimately it had been Mahad who had made all of the major calls of their partnership. This was due, mostly in part to the young man's "secret weapon", which to this day Seto regretted handing him. Between saving his life that day and the "broken" arm, he'd never be free of Mahad's ever-annoying presence.

A knock at the door snapped Seto out of his ponderings for the moment, and he instead walked towards the door. Opening it revealed his younger brother, Mokuba, holding a clipboard with various papers and envelopes clasped in it. Mokuba would sometimes travel with their act when school was on break, such as it was now for the winter holidays. Sometimes, the young boy would work as an extra assistant for the cast and crew, especially for his big brother.

"Mokuba, great." Seto said, walking out of the room and closing the door behind him. "Did you get the notice drawn up?"

"Yep." Mokuba nodded.

Seto smiled. "I knew I could count on you."

Mokuba looked down at his clipboard, checking off some of the things on the top piece of paper aloud so Seto could hear. "Show lays off tonight; cast and crew get ten days off, _with _pay." He looked up at his brother and smiled. "They'll go wild, big brother! Nicest Christmas present anybody ever had."

Seto scoffed. "Hey, between me and Mahad, they deserve it. You got the tickets for New York?"

Mokuba smirked in a very Kaiba fashion. "Well, it wasn't easy, givin' the usual holiday crowds, but your name was all it took to get you and Mahad two tickets for the 1 o'clock train ride to Manhattan. They'll be here in a little while."

"Works for me." Seto said. He quickly read over the notice Mokuba had made up for any errors. Finding none, he nodded and handed the clipboard back to Mokuba. "Make some copies of these and hang them up around backstage."

"Got it." Mokuba said before running off. "Also, you need to sign this." He said, pulling a second sheet of paper out from behind the first one and handing the clipboard back to Seto.

"Okay." Seto agreed, quickly scrawling his signature onto the dotted line at the bottom of the page. "Oh, and remember, if you need to get in touch with me for anything while I'm in New York, either e-mail or texts. Only call if it's a life-or-death emergency. Mahad and I'll be busy rehearsing for the _Karim Ketchum Show_." He said, handing the clipboard back to Mokuba.

Mokuba sighed. "You sure you and Mahad don't want to take a break, seeing as your show's going off the tour for Christmas anyway?" he asked.

Seto chuckled. "I wouldn't pass this chance up for the world, Mokuba. This is going to be a great way to get wide-range recognition for the show. Now get those notices copied and hung up, and bring the tickets to the dressing room when they come, got it."

Mokuba rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah." He agreed before running off.

Seto watched as his brother ran off with a half smile. It was always good to have the kid around.

"Hey, Seto!" Mahad called, rushing over to him. "Can I see you a minute?"

_Beats having to hang around the other alternative._ Seto thought, before walking over to Mahad. His partner grabbed his arm and brought him over to the two girls he had been talking to earlier. He already didn't like where this was going.

"Hey," Mahad started. "I'd like you to meet Tea. Tea Gardner. A friend of my sister's. She's our new dancer girl, y'know, to take over for Eliza."

Seto turned to Mahad and skoffed. "Another one, huh?" he asked, his tone ever sarcastic. "Well, how do you do?"

"How do I do what?" she asked.

"And that was all I needed to hear." Seto stated before turning to leave. Before he could, Mahad had reigned him back in by the arm.

"Whoa-whoa-whoa! Not so fast." Mahad said quickly. "The three of us were going out to get some dinner before we get on the train. I was hoping that you could join us." Though worded as a request, there was no mistaking the demand laced into those words. Unfortunately for Mahad, he forgot who he was dealing with.

"Well, as _intellectual _as I'm sure any conversation would be with the two brunette bimbos, I'm afraid I can't make it. I'll be busy putting a bullet through my head." Seto remarked, completely ignoring the insulted glares he was getting from their two female companions.

"Hey, one of those bimbos- I mean, brunettes is my sister, y'know!" Mahad replied irately.

"It must be hereditary, then." Seto countered. "In any event, you'll be joining me. We've got some business to take care of."

"What kind of business?" Mahad asked.

"We've got to go look at an act."

Mahad nearly did a double-take. "An act?!" he asked, almost appalled at the notion of giving up dinner with any woman for their job. Looking back at Mana and Tea, they seemed to share his sentiments.

Seto continued. "Yeah, and maybe if I'm lucky, I'll still have time to squeeze in that bullet through my head. If I'm _really _lucky, I can have you join me for that as well." Choosing to say no more, he turned around once more and left for the dressing room. This time Mahad did not stop him. Not even a miracle would fix the damage done anyway. And so, another one evades him.

"What was _his _problem?!" Tea asked. "I think _Scrooge_ was nicer than him! Don't tell me I'm really going to be working for him from now on!"

"That's it, Mahad, I give!" Mana stated, throwing her hands up in the air for emphasis. "This is the absolute _**last **_time I'm gonna help you try and get a date for him. I don't even think you should be trying anymore. If he wants to be alone and miserable the rest of his life, then let's just let him!"

Mahad held his hands up in defense. "Okay, okay, just... let me talk to him, okay? Maybe I can still bring him around for dinner."

Mana raised an eyebrow. "Okaaay, and question? Why would we even _want_ to have dinner with him if he's gonna be like _that_?!"

"B-because...oh, shut up, Mana!" Mahad glowered, before turning and following Seto back into their dressing room.

"Seto," Mahad began as he entered, "I think you and I should have a little talk regarding..."

"I couldn't agree more, Mahad; in fact, I'll lead off." Seto interrupted, tossing the hat he was wearing to Mahad. He caught it and took his own, matching hat off his head and placed them on the dresser he was standing in front of.

"Now, wait a minute...!"

"You wait a minute!" Seto interjected again, removing his red jacket and throwing it onto a nearby chair. "Explain to me this: for the last three months, you've been pairing me up with nearly every woman I come into contact with, tactlessly, too, I might add."

Mahad followed in Seto's place, removing his jacket, once more a matching replica to his parter's, as well. "All I'm trying to do is..." he began, walking over to Seto to grab his jacket to hang up.

"Fat ones, tall ones, thin ones, it doesn't matter." Seto continued to rant. "As long as they're wearing skirts, a little makeup, and still breathing, they're fair game to you."

"...Well, it's for your own good." Mahad stated, putting the coats on hangers and sticking them in the closet.

Seto looked back at Mahad with a skeptical scowl. "My own good, huh?" he inquired.

"Yeah; Let's face it, Seto, you're a lonely, miserable man."

"What?"

"And you're unhappy, too." Mahad added. "And when you're unhappy, I'm unhappy. After all, I feel a strong sense of responsibility to you, Seto." He slowly began to reach up to his right arm. "Ever since the day I..."

"Oh, no. No." Seto protested. "Don't you dare start up again on the whole "saving my life" thing."

"Well... if you'd rather forget about it, then..."

"Forget?!" Seto demanded, "Yeah, hard to do that when you won't let me! Since you saved my life, you've taken it upon yourself to run it! You've pushed and prodded me along like an animal to the slaughterhouse. From the contracts, to the concerts, and the cds to this producing crap. To add insult to injury, you'd look at me with that puppy-dog stare you do, point at that fake-ass arm, and I'd give and go along."

"Hey, your words, not mine, bro." Mahad said, loosening his tie as Seto took off his button-down shirt. "I don't expect any gratitude..."

"Well, too bad, 'cause your gonna get it." Seto retorted. "You came, you delivered. We did beyond great, and I'm grateful for it. So thank you. Thank you, Mahad Sehhr, from the bottom of my cold, black heart. Now will you leave the rest of my life alone?"

"No, I won't." Mahad replied.

"Why not?" Seto asked, tossing his shirt into one of the open suitcases. Mahad walked up and did the same with his.

"Because you're a miserable, lonely, unhappy man."

Seto scoffed. "Don't be stupid; I'm a very happy man."

Mahad was quick to defend. "Well then, you're happy for the wrong reasons, and that's the same as being lonely and miserable. Except it's worse!"

Seto threw him an 'are you serious?' look before replying. "What drugs are you smoking? Look around you; I've got everything in life I want."

Mahad snorted. "Yeah, that's right." he said, taking off his pants to change into a new pair of black dress pants. "I'm bat-shit crazy..."

"No shit."

"...and you've got everything you want. _**Except **_the most important thing."

Seto rolled his eyes. "What?"

"Love."

It was stupid, simple, and utterly unworth his time. Yet the single word still spurred a moment of pause for the talented young man. He absorbed the word for a moment in an attempt to process its composition, before returning to his debate with Mahad.

"Well...I'll get around to that one of these days." he agreed, walking over to the vanity in the room and sitting down to untie his shoes.

"My dear partner," Mahad began, walking over to Seto. "When what's left of you finally gets around to what's left to be gotten, what's left to be gotten won't be worth getting whatever it is you've got left." he stated matter-of-factly.

Seto paused for another second, though this time not in reflection. "...When I figure out what that means, I'll come up with a crushing reply." he promised, standing up to take off his pants and change into white dress pants. "What's are you trying to accomplish out of all of this, anyway?"

Mahad gave an obviously fake smile. "Only your happiness."

"My happiness." Seto repeated.

"Of course."

"...Mahad, when you get an idea that's for my sole and ultimate happiness, there's always somehow behind it a little angle for you. So what is it _this time_?"

Mahad sighed. "Do you really want to know?"

"Yes, I really want to know."

"Alright, then. I'll really tell you."

"Alright, then enlighten me." Seto indulged, fishing out a clean button-down shirt from another trunk.

"Ever since we became producers, you've been a changed man. You've gone absolutely berserk with work. And the saddest part is you like it! You like being Andrew Lloyd Weber."

Seto rolled his eyes. "You're such a hypocrite. It was your idea, remember."

"Of course it was my idea! I didn't think I was going to create a monster. And ever since that day, I haven't had one minute to myself."

"So what do you want me to do about it?" Seto asked before throwing his worn pants into the suitcase with the other clothes.

"Simply put, I want you to get married. I want you to have nine children. And if you only spend five minutes a day with each kid, at the least, that's still 45 minutes. 45 minutes! You know that that is? That's just enough time for me to go and get a massage, or play through a few games of Call of Duty, or something."

"And you honestly expect me to get serious with the sort of characters you and your sister have been throwing at me?" Seto inquired.

"Don't be so cynical. There've been some nice girls, too, you know." Mahad said, getting a button-down to put on.

"Oh, yeah, yeah." Seto laughed. "Like that rocket scientist you introduced me to out in the hall."

Mahad groaned. There was just no getting through that thick skull of his. "Alright. Fine. I get it. Yes; they didn't go to college. They didn't go to Harvard." Mahad used the snooty Harvard access when saying the school name.

Seto laughed again. "_Go _to Harvard?! She couldn't even spell it!"

"Oh, that's hilarious, Seto. Ha ha ha! Apparently comedian is among your list of talents as well." By this time, Mahad had given up on trying to reach Seto, and continued to get dressed to go see their act.

From the other side of the room, Seto noticed the silence take over. He looked in the mirror and sighed. In spite of everything, Mahad had good intentions. At this point in both of their careers, they'd come too far to have these cloak and dagger routines and shouting contests between each other. In a way, sometimes Mahad was like an annoying older brother. He wondered for a moment if this was how he appeared to Mokuba. He disregarded that thought. He could never be as stupid and pestering as Mahad was.

"Listen, Mahad." Seto began. "You've got to be one of the biggest morons I've ever had the displeasure of working with. Fortunately, you're also the only one that I'd even consider listening to for more than five minutes. And though I hate to admit it, there's a lot of good advice in what you're saying right now." He sighed again. "Look, here's the simple fact, though. The kind of women we meet in this industry are young, ambitious, and focused on their own careers. The last thing on any of their minds is marriage and children."

Mahad looked surprised for a minute, before smiling. "That's the first time I've ever heard you open up like that, Seto." he said.

"Don't ruin it." he said. "Someday, I'll find the right one, okay. Then I'll get married, and start having those nine kids for you. Will 45 minutes be enough?"

Mahad smiled. "I'll tell you if I need more." he promised.

A knock at the door ended their conversation.

"Come in." Seto called.

Mokuba entered seconds later, carrying an envelope in his hand.

"I got your tickets, Big Bro!" he exclaimed. "You'll be in drawing room A, car 207."

"Thanks, Mokuba." Seto replied. "Mahad, grab those for me."

Mokuba passed the envelope to Mahad, who proceeded to fold it up and put it in the pocket of his pants.

"Thanks, Mokuba." he said as Mokuba left the room, shutting the door on his way out.

"We'll go right over to the station from Novello's after we audition this act." Seto explained.

Mahad nodded, still not fully interested in going to see this still unknown act. "So what kind of act is it?"

"It's a sister act." Seto stated.

Mahad turned back to Seto dumbfounded. "A sister act?! Are you kidding me? We don't need any sister act! What are we wasting time for?"

"Well, I got a letter from Shada Ishtar." Seto explained, putting on his tie. "They're his sisters. You remember, Shada Ishtar, the sergeant with all the tattoos back in our division?"

Mahad nearly did a double take. "Really? Inky Ishtar? The one-man art gallery?"

"Yeah, that's the guy." Seto said. "He gave you that stupid name tattooed onto your back. By the way, smooth move getting your ex-girlfriend's name on your back. I'm sure your next boyfriend will really appreciate that."

"Enough with the gay jokes already!" Mahad said. "I'm not even gay! I had a girlfriend! _A girlfriend!_"

"Could've fooled me." Seto commented.

Mahad huffed. "Anyway, you're saying Shada's got sisters?"

Seto shrugged. "Claims he's got 'em"

"Oh, come on, now!" Mahad exclaimed. "How can a guy that weird have the nerve to have sisters?"

"_Very_ brave parents." Seto answered.

"Seto, do me one favor, will you?"

"What's that?"

"Give me one reason, one good reason why we should spend our last two hours in Florida, the sunshine state, looking at the sisters of Shada Ishtar, the one-man art gallery?"

"Let's just say we're doing it for a fellow soldier." Seto said simply.

Mahad paused in thought. "...Well," he decided. "it's not good, but it's a reason."

* * *

That's it. I hope that it was well worth the wait.

So Mahad's trying to find Seto a girlfriend; will he succeed? The only way to know for sure is to either find the movie to watch or read this all the way to the end.

I can't wait to put on chapter 3, (hopefully sometime later today after my morning class) where I will finally reveal the identity of the two mysterious Haynes Sisters. Well, we already know that I've dubbed them as the Ishtar Sisters. That and Mahad's very presence in this story should give away at least one of the two sisters. As for the other, well, wait and see!

I feel obligated to say this, so I'm just gonna say it. I'm not a Tea-basher. actually, I don't care about her either way. I just put her in because she fit. So for those of you who are Tea-bashers, I hope you got a good laugh out of that scene. For those who aren't, all I can say is I'm sorry, but I'm not forcing you to read it.

That's it. I'm tired. Good night.

R&R at your leisure.


	3. The Ishtar Sisters

Well, here's chapter three, where the Ishtar Sisters will be introduced. This one's going to be shorter, just because if I wanted to update quickly, and writing the scene with _The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing_ number would have taken me all night to finish. Once again, I have to sleep. I won't be doing much of that anyways, since I'll be working on a journal project for my class tomorrow.

Author's notes: nothing really to say. The only warning I can really give, and I use the term loosely, is that near the end, Mahad and Kaiba are kinda pervy, and again, I use the term loosely. There'll be an author's note about mid-chapter giving some links to various sites that you might be interested in. Hopefully they work. I know the one for the YouTube clip in chapter 1 didn't work that well. But in order for you to watch it, all you have to do is go to the YouTube site, and add that on to the Youtube homepage html. same for the other clip I have in this chapter.

that's it. I hope you enjoy the chapter, in spite of its shortness in relation to the others. I'll post the next on tomorrow. Promise.

* * *

Novello's was rocking when they got there. The restaurant was a prime location in Florida for up-and-coming entertainers; a few years back Seto and Mahad had made an appearance here, shortly before their third CD. It was, in a way, an old fashioned place to entertain. Most places nowadays would have a stage for all of their acts, while Mr. Novello had kept the floor in front of the stage, a 10x10 foot area, open for dancing and acrobatic acts. Since there were no entertainers on the floor at the moment, it was open for couples to dance on together.

Seto and Mahad came into the front lobby and were immediately escorted inside, where they met with Mr. Novello himself, waiting for them by the staircase that led to the main dining hall.

"Mr. Novello." Seto greeted, shaking the older man's hand.

Novello smiled. "Good evening, Mr. Kaiba, Mr. Sehhr." he said.

"Hi." Mahad said, shaking his hand as well.

"Have the Ishtar Sisters been on yet?" Seto asked.

"No, sir. Not yet." Novello answered, glancing down at his watch. "They'll be on in about fifteen minutes."

"Well, tell them we're here to see the act." Seto replied.

"Certainly, Mr. Kaiba." Mr. Novello agreed, before turning to one of the waiters. "Luigi, please show these gentlemen to their table." he said.

As they were led to their table at the front of the dance floor, Mahad threw Seto a disgruntled look. "This is ridiculous." he muttered. "I could have been out with my sister, having some laughs before she goes back to Massachusetts for the winter."

Seto shook his head. "And drag me along for a date with the poster girl for the mentally retarded, right?" he stated, taking a seat.

Mahad sat down next to him. "Y'see, it's that cynical nature of yours that's gonna have you stay lonely and miserable for the rest of your life!"

~Q.N~

A knock at the door alerted the room's two occupants of company. "Who is it?" one of the two girls called.

"It's me, Novello!" the owner stated.

From inside the room, the older girl with dark hair and blue eyes answered the door, while her younger sister was still brushing out her platinum blonde hair. Novello stepped in, a smile on his face.

"Seto Kaiba and Mahad Sehhr are out front to catch your act." he told them. The girl with white hair stood up at this news, eyes wide with shock.

"Kaiba and Sehhr?!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, they said they got a letter from your brother." Novello explained. "He asked them to take a look and give you some advice. Show starts in ten minutes, girls. Best of luck." he finished quickly, before rushing out and closing the door.

The two sisters shared a glance, and the dark haired one smiled before walking past her sister to an open suitcase in the room. "Isn't that fabulous?" she asked. "Kaiba and Sehhr here to see us!"

"Yeah..." the blonde sister murmured, picking up a nail file off the vanity and working on her nails. "Fabulous..." Her clear blue eyes glanced suspiciously over at her sister.

"I can't believe Shada would do something like this for us. What a wonderful brother! Oh, we owe him a lot. Let's get him something other than a tie or sweater for Christmas this year, huh? Maybe pay for plane tickets up to see us in Vermont this year." The older sister said, busying herself with putting some items into the suitcase.

"Amazing..." the younger one agreed. "Hey, what do you suppose gave him the idea?"

"Well, he knew that we were in Florida," The dark haired sister stated. "And that they were at the same time with their show." she followed her sister over to where their jewelry box was. Her sister passed her a pair of blue earrings, and picked up a pair of matching ones to put on herself. "He probably figured we were too shy to take advantage of an old army friendship to call..."

"Hey, Isis," The blonde interrupted, getting her sister's attention. "did you get around to reading the e-mail we got from mom this morning?" she asked.

Isis paused as she was putting on one of the earrings. "No, I didn't get a chance. Why?"

Her sister sighed. "Shada's still in Egypt on business. He won't be back in the country for another three weeks." she stated. Their brother had been in Egypt for the last three months. He was supposed to have been back a week ago, but his company's project was behind, and they would need a few more weeks to catch up. There was no way that he could have known either they or Kaiba and Sehhr would be performing in Florida right now.

"Oh?" Isis asked, blinking. Her sister nodded. "Oh. Well...well he _could _have written from Egypt. I did send him a letter telling him we'd be down here." she replied, waking over to another table to pour herself a cup of tea.

"But he didn't, did he?" The blonde asked, walking up behind Isis.

"Well...he might have." Isis pressed on, picking the cup of tea up and taking a sip to calm her nerves.

"Isis." The blond reprimanded. "Why did you write the letter?"

Isis paused for a moment, trying to judge what to say or do next. Clearly Kisara wasn't backing down from this; she already knew the truth. Damn. She really should've found the time to read that e-mail!

She sighed, and turned around to face her sister. "Because it's good for our act."

Kisara hummed. "Of all the people to meddle in fate, you'd be the last person I'd expect." she stated.

"Well, sometimes even fate needs a little push." Isis said mysteriously.

Kisara sighed. "Isis, next time could you at least talk to me first before you push us right out of show business?" She walked over to the vanity to put on her mascara. Isis quickly followed her with a brush in hand. She smiled and began combing through her sister's hair with a light laugh.

"No need to patronize." she chided gently. "That should be my job, after all; I'm the oldest."

Kisara smiled and turned around to look at Isis. "You still should have talked to me."

"And would you have agreed to ask them to come see us?"

"No; especially not under false pretenses." Kisara stated matter-of-factly.

"There you go, then." Isis replied. "Listen, Kisara, when someone finally comes along who can take care of you better than I can, then I'll stop caring so much. But until then, I'm going to take and find whatever opportunities I can to ensure that the two of us are well-off. You understand?"

Kisara sighed. "I'm not a kid, Sis."

Isis smiled motherly. "But you are still my little sister."

"Fine, fine. Promise you'll include me in the decision making process from now on, though?" Kisara asked.

Isis put her hands on Kisara's shoulders. "Promise."

"Alright, girls. Five minutes!" someone called from outside.

"Oh, thank you!" Isis called back, before turning back to Kisara with the brush. "Oh, honey, you look beautiful! He's going to love you."

"Which one?" Kisara giggled.

"Who cares?" Isis commented, walking back towards the table with the tea and getting both cups for her and Kisara. She smirked. "They're both famous."

Kisara only rolled her eyes as Isis handed her one of the cups of tea.

~Q.N~

Five minutes later, the floor had been cleared of all the couples to make way for the act, and the band began to play. Isis and Kisara stepped onto the floor, hiding behind two giant blue fans embroidered in sequins and feathers.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the Ishtar Sisters" the conductor introduced before turning back to the band.

Once the music started playing, the two sisters lowered the fans to reveal themselves to the audience. Mahad looked the two over from where he was sitting with Seto. They were almost perfectly centered to the two girls, so he was able to get a good look at both of them. They were both dressed in light blue dresses to match the fans. The dresses were strapless and curve fitting, yet the skirts were still fluid and loose enough around the legs to allow them to dance. As for the material, it looked like cotton with a layer of lace over it. They both wore matching earrings to the ensemble, and their hair was tied up behind each of them in French twists.

The girl on his left was cute. Her hair was platinum white, and her skin was almost as pale. She had large, crystal blue eyes, and a sweet, tender smile. Looking lower, her body was thin, and almost willowy, but curves were still obvious underneath the material of the dress. She reminded Mahad of snow, gentle and beautiful.

And then he looked to the other sister on his right. And he stared. He completely, shamelessly stared. If the first girl had been beautiful, then her sister was utterly _**gorgeous**_! She looked nothing like the other one. Instead of white hair and pale skin, she had thick ebony locks and a perfect sun kissed tan. Her eyes, like her sister's, were blue, but hers were a darker, sapphire color. She had full, kissable lips, which were currently framing perfect straight, white teeth. She had a much more obvious hourglass figure, which didn't take away from her slender arms and waist.

_I love you._ Mahad thought in his head, a part of him praying that she could somehow hear his unspoken yearning for her. _Please, be mine!_

"I can't believe Shada never told me he had a sister like _that!_" Mahad said out loud. Although it hadn't been intended for Seto, his partner heard it nonetheless. The young man hadn't even looked up at the two, more interested in the drink he had ordered. He glanced up briefly, mentally agreeing with Mahad that the two were attractive, and looked back at his glass of champagne.

"It's incredible." he agreed, yet his voice maintained neutral. No sooner had he said this than their song began, and they danced along with it. (AN: I'm not going to write down ever single movement they do in this dance. if you want to see it, Type in "white christmas sisters" in YouTube. this link should be right, too: watch?v=PG7x8HWbDzU Also, they're not wearing the same dresses and Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen, so here's the concept for their dresses I used: images/products/evening% )

_**Both**__: Sisters, sisters;_

_There were never such devoted sisters._

_**Kisara**__: Never had to have a chaperone, no sir!_

_**Isis**__: I'm here to keep my eye on her!_

_**Both**__: Caring, sharing;_

_Every little thing that we are wearing._

_**Isis**__: When a certain gentlemen arrived from Rome..._

_**Kisara**__: She wore the dress, and I stayed home!_

_**Both**__: All kinds of weather, we stick together;_

_The same in the rain or sun._

_Two different faces, but in tight places;_

_We think and we act as one._

_Uh-huh!_

_**Kisara**__: Those who've, seen us;_

_Know that not a thing could come between us._

_**Isis**__: Many men have tried to split us up;_

_But no one can._

_**Both**__: Lord help the mister;_

_Who comes between me and my sister._

_And Lord help the sister;_

_Who comes between me and my man._

The lyrics stopped, yet the two continued to twirl on the floor with the music still playing for the song. They were perfectly in tempo with one another. Mahad looked away from the raven haired girl long enough to glance at Seto, and then look back at her. But he did a double take when he realized that Seto wasn't just watching the performance, but _staring_, just like he was. His eyes widened, and looked back and forth between his partner, and the two young ladies out on the dance floor. He felt his heart fall a little. Was he looking at the same girl he was looking at? Or the one with the white hair? Or did he just think that both were attractive?

"Hey," he whispered, leaning towards Seto. "She's really something, huh?" he asked, not really caring which one Seto was looking at at the moment. "She's got a beautiful smile."

Seto smirked. "Yeah." he agreed, looking at the girl. "And those big, blue eyes."

Mahad nodded, his gaze directed at his dream girl again. "Yeah, and those curves..." he added, looking up and down her body.

"Yeah." Seto continued. "And that white hair..."

"Yeah, and th... huh?" Mahad asked, looking back at Seto, only to find that he wasn't looking at the same girl he had been looking at. Instead, he had been staring at the more pale one. Mahad looked back and forth between the two for a minute, before slowly nodding his head as he realized just what might be happening. Something was telling him that he had finally found the right girl for Seto Kaiba.

"O-oh, oh, yeah." he agreed. "Snowy white."

* * *

YES! The two lovely Ishtar sisters will be played by (drumroll, please!), Isis and Kisara! Honestly, I'm not a really strong Mizu/Blueshipper, nor am I a big Kisara fan altogether. Indeed, I don't even use her a lot in my fanfics. But she just fits so well in this situation, I had to use her. The only other options for me would have been to either use Mana, or an OC of mine. For Mana, I don't think that SetoxMana would be a good combination, and I _**DETEST**_Apprenticeshipping with a burning, viscious passion, so that was out as well. As for my OC, she hates Seto too much, and loves Pleashipping too much for that to work out either way. So, it was Kisara. Not that I'm complaining. I know I've just made a lot of people very happy.

Sorry for the lack of detail in Isis and Kisara's song and dance number. Honestly, I'm feeling really lazy on account of still having a **lot** of things to still get done for my classes before break, and I really dont want to spend too much time on something that's ultimately only a hobby, even though I've still devoted myself to a chapter a day.

One final thing, I'm going to apologize in advance. Isis and Mahad's relationship is going to greatly overshadow Seto and Kisara's in this story, even though it was the other way around in the movie. I only have eyes for them, and I'm sorry it keeps me from giving more depth to other characters and pairings that would otherwise be front and center.

Otherwise, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and will continue to read this story. If anyone wants any fanart for any scene of any chapter in this fic whatsoever, let me know and I'll make it happen. Thank you all!

R&R at your leisure.


	4. The Best Things Happen While You Dance

Oh my God, am I glad to be back! I have spent the entirety of last week, all the way up to Monday finishing up work for my classes. Fortunately, my break has officially begun, and I'll be off from school for about a month, during which time I'll be working on finishing and publishing my novel, and doing various other projects in-between. Unfortunately, I'm WAAAY behind in this story, because of all the extra stuff I had to do for my classes, and as much as I detest my school work, I have to concede that it _must _come before activities that make life seem fulfilling and happy, like WRITING FANFICTION!

Anyway, important message time: I've finally decided that there is nothing I can do about the links I put in here, so instead I'll be putting the links to the songs, dances, and other things related to this fic that people may be interested in seeing on my homepage rather than in the individual chapters of this fic. Hopefully, this will work out much better for everyone, none less than my own sanity. So, for this chapter, I'll have a link on my bio page for _The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing_ dance, and links for the dresses Isis and Kisara are wearing.

Something else to bring up, though not nearly as important, is that since I'm not where I want to be with this story right now, I'll be trying to commit myself to two chapters a day, rather than one. I'd also like to add to this that I'd REALLY appreciate some more reviews of this story. I know I don't usually outright ask for them, but I think if I saw that more people were genuinely interested in what I'm writing, it would give me the extra boost to go on with it and meet my goal of finishing this before Christmas. Also, I'm trying to make a career out of writing, so the more feedback I get on my writing, the more I'll improve.

Ok, now that I got that off my chest, minor warning for this chapter, there's still some minor perviness going on, though it's mostly just Isis and Mahad flirting with each other. This is a _very_ Pleashipping-centric chapter, with just a touch of Mizu/Blueshipping in-between. No like-y, no read-y.

Otherwise, on with chapter 4, also known as the chapter with the longest title I've ever written!

* * *

After their act, Seto and Mahad invited Isis and Kisara back to their table to have a drink with them before their last song number. After Novello conveyed the invite to the two, the sisters quickly went backstage and changed out of their costumes into more formal dresses. They arrived at Seto and Mahad's table ten minutes later. Isis was dressed in a knee-high pink dress with black trim, and off-the-shoulder sleeves. The entire top was embroidered in white and lilac sequins in floral patterns, and the skirt was a tutu style, perfect for dancing. She accessorized the outfit with a pearl necklace and earrings, and a pair of black ballet flats, which had a flower on each one made with fake pearls. Next to her, Kisara wore a periwinkle colored cocktail dress. the skirt went down to her ankles, and wavy patterns went down the skirt. The sleeves went over her shoulders, leaving her arms exposed. She wore silver hoop earrings and matching bangles with the dress, as well as high heeled, silver open-toe shoes and a light blue sash wrapping around her arms from the back. Both of them had kept their hair up in the twists.

When they got to the table where the two young men were sitting, Mahad beamed and quickly stood up. Isis and Kisara smiled as well, though Kisara seemed a bit more uncomfortable with the gesture. Seto did not stand or smile, but he did look up and acknowledge the presence of the two newcomers. Everyone exchanged greetings, and then the two sisters began to take the empty seats.

"Oh! Ah..." Mahad exclaimed before they could sit down. He moved around Isis, and gestured to the two ladies. "Won't you sit there, and you sit right here?" he pointed to the seat he was previously sitting in for Isis to take, and the seat across from it for Kisara. The two sisters shared a quick glance, but shrugged and accepted the determined seating arrangement. Mahad pushed in their chairs for them. "There, that's cozier, isn't it? Boy, girl, boy girl?" Mahad asked, and the girls shared a quick laugh, while Seto just rolled his eyes.

"So..." Isis began, "I'm Isis, and this is my younger sister, Kisara." She said, nodding towards Kisara.

Mahad smiled. _Isis..._ her name was as beautiful as she was.

"And you're Mahad Sehhr," Kisara continued, nodding at Mahad, "And you're Mr. Kaiba." she turned to Seto. Seto didn't reply, but he did smile at the recognition.

"Well, this is a real surprise, ladies." Mahad continued, shaking his head. "Seto and I were just saying how incredible it is that Shada Ishtar's sisters should have hair...I-I mean..." he stuttered, the sisters giving him confused looks. "...I mean...white hair... that is, hair... uh... heh." He stopped when he noticed Seto glaring at him with a look that said, 'quit while you're ahead', and dipped his head meekly, hoping that his partner could pick up the pieces.

"Smooth... real smooth." Seto commented, and Mahad glared at him. Isis giggled, and Kisara looked a bit uncomfortable. "I think what my inept friend is trying to say is how surprising it is that Shada never told us just how much talent was in the family."

Kisara turned towards Seto. "Well, actually, Mr. Kaiba, the truth is..."

"Well," Isis interrupted quickly, trying to sound like she was about to say the same thing that Kisara was, "I guess Shada didn't want to take advantage of an old army friendship. After all, you know how shy he is, so modest and reserved."

"It runs in the family." Kisara said dryly. Mahad chuckled, and he was surprised to see Seto crack a smile as well.

Isis reached into a purse she had brought with her, pulling out a cell phone. "I, uh... I should have a recent picture of him in here somewhere..." she said, scrolling through pictures of friends and family. "...Ah; here he is! This is before he left to go work on a project in Egypt." She explained, handing her phone over to Seto. He took it and examined the picture. It was Shada and the two sisters, sitting on a couch together, with Shada in the middle. He looked the same, if not a little older than when they had known him in the army. Honestly, though, his _sisters_ were more interesting to look at than him, even with the tattoos. _Especially _in tank tops and shorts. Taking an extra moment to look over each one's more _interesting _features, seeing as he probably wouldn't be able to do so with the real things he nodded and handed the phone back to Isis.

"He always was a good-looking guy." Seto commented. "I see that also runs in the family." Both girls smiled, Isis chuckling a little. Mahad shook his head, and glanced at Isis again. She had a beautiful laugh, but why did it have to be wasted on something Seto said? More importantly, when did Seto Kaiba become Prince Charming? Usually by now he'd have found some flaw with either of the two women that he'd be pointing out in the most offending way possible. Was he really interested in the two as much as Mahad was? Well, at least with one of them. This was better than he could have hoped; he wasn't about to let this opportunity slip away from him!

"Uh, speaking of families..." Mahad began, trying to bring attention back to himself. "I read an article online the other day about the possibility of a second baby boom, due to the amount of returning soldiers from the war getting married and starting families." Mahad paused for a moment, noticing Seto giving him a scalding glare from across the table. He took it into account before turning back to the two ladies. "Is... anyone in your family planning on getting married soon?" he asked them.

"Oh, no. No; Shada's pretty much married to his work at the moment. Same as us." Isis said. "Hopefully in a few more years at least one of us will be able to get married, though. I know I'm looking forward to having a niece or nephew. Hint, hint." She smiled at Kisara.

Kisara picked up the glass of water in front of her and took a sip."Pushing, pushing." she gurgled into the water. Mahad laughed and turned back to Isis. "So, you like kids, huh?" he asked.

Isis smiled back and nodded. "Yes, I love children. Kisara and I used to help out at a daycare during the summer while we were in high school."

"Oh my God." Seto muttered under his breath, shaking his head. Mahad wasn't really doing this now, was he?! After he'd tried so hard to _avoid_ this very situation. That asshole just wouldn't quit!

"Wow; that's really great." Mahad responded, shaking his head. "Imagine a girl in entertainment today, wanting to settle down and raise a family. It's just... so refreshing, don't you think?" he asked, raising a brow at Seto.

Seto picked up his glass and took a sip. "Pushing, pushing." he gurgled into the water. Isis looked at him curiously, feeling as though she was missing out on a certain joke.

"Well, would either of you like a drink? A little blush or white wine, perhaps?" Mahad asked.

Kisara shook her head. "No, thank you." Isis replied. "Actually, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to know your feelings about our act. Mr. Kaiba," she asked, turning to Seto, "Do you have any suggestions for us?"

Seto shook his head. "To be honest, Miss Ishtar, you two are the first actresses with any true talent that I've seen in a long time. You seem to be doing good by whatever you've been doing now, so just keep following your intuition. I think that's the best advice I can give." Kisara smiled at this comment, nodding her head in silent agreement.

"Oh, but there must be something we can improve." Isis continued. "I was thinking that we should both have the same colored hair. Do you think I should bleach my hair? Or would it look better if Kisara dyed hers to match mine?" Seto glanced over at Kisara and looked her over. Her hair was sparkling in the candlelight. He couldn't imagine her without white hair. "Or maybe one of us should get bangs?"

"No, no." Seto shook his head, holding his gaze with Kisara's. "I wouldn't change a thing."

An awkward silence passed for a moment, where all eyes were on Seto. Mahad looked between his three tablemates, noticing Isis once again staring at Seto, who was staring at Kisara, who was staring right back at him. This was going somewhere, but he needed to speed things up a little before Seto reverted back to his usual bitter self. He picked up the music changing on the dance floor, and his violet eyes brightened a bit, seeing an opportunity.

"Oh, this is a great song!" he lied. "Anyone care to dance? Isis?"

Isis looked up at Mahad as he stood and offered his hand to her. He looked incredibly nervous; she wondered if he even knew how to dance. At least in the way that she liked to dance. She quickly looked at Kisara, who shrugged he shoulders nonchalantly. So she wasn't going to step in, nor did she care how her sister resolved the dilemma. Wonderful.

"Ah, maybe later." She responded. "I was sort of hoping that we could talk about..."

"Come on, just one dance won't hurt, will it? You do like to dance, don't you." His legs were shaking, but he managed to find the courage to put his hand over hers. Her cheeks turned pink a little, but her darker complexion hid it well.

"Well... alright then." She consented, getting up and smoothing her dress out. she turned back to Seto. "Now don't tell Kisara anything you wouldn't tell me, got it?" she said.

"You're sexy." Seto commented, at which the two girls laughed, Kisara blushing a bit more than Isis.

"W-well, you've got the idea." Isis got out between giggles. She turned back to Mahad, who was glaring jealous daggers at Seto, his partner ignoring the death stare. "After you." she said, drawing Mahad's attention back to her, and calming the momentary tense atmosphere. She let him wrap his free arm around her waist, and the two spun onto the dance floor, Mahad looking much, much happier than Isis about it. Though Isis managed a smile as Mahad led them through the slow dance, his face nervous, but his steps so sure. She moved a bit closer, and he tensed for a moment, before relaxing into their closer proximity. He could smell her perfume now, a mixture of lime and coconut, as well as her own, intoxicating scent, which reminded him of the beach. Warm sand, palm leaves and ocean waves.

Kisara smiled happily. "They look good together." she said wistfully.

Seto scoffed. "Trust me," he snorted. "your sister can do _much_ better. I think she knows that, too." he nodded at how tense she looked dancing with his partner. Kisara noticed this too, and nodded uncertainly.

"Well, I'm flattered that you think so." she responded. "I think Isis deserves the best, too."

"Flattery has nothing to do with it." Seto continued. "I just call it like it is. Isis is attractive, talented, and from what I've seen so far an intelligent conversation. Mahad's only redeeming feature is his business skills."

Kisara frowned, finding it horrible the way he talked about his own partner, but decided no just let it go for now. After all, she only needed to tolerate his remarks for a very short time."Well, I'm sorry to hear that." she replied instead. "So, how did the two of you start working together if you have such a negative opinion of each other?" she asked, leaning forward a bit.

Seto shook his head. "Long story." he told her. "I wouldn't want to bore you. More importantly, I wouldn't want to sully Mahad's reputation while he's not here to defend himself."

_You mean like you just were a few seconds ago?_ Kisara thought but chose not to say anything.

"Actually..." Seto began. "I hate to go back to old topics, but I was just so surprised to get Shada's letter today. After all, we barely ever..."

"Look, Mr. Kaiba," Kisara interrupted, looking him in the eyes. "you ought to know the truth. You see, you were brought here tonight under false pretenses. Shada didn't write the letter; my sister did." she admitted, nodding towards Isis.

Seto's eyes widened, before turning to look at the dark haired sister on the dance floor. "Isis? Really?" he asked, a bit skeptical. Although, when the idea was finally processed through his mind, he smiled and gave a lighthearted laugh.

"Yeah, she figured that you'd never come to see our show if we asked you," Kisara explained nervously, "and you might if Shada did. That's all there is to it."

"I think I should take back what I said about your sister being too good for Mahad." Seto got out between laughs. "So, even miss daycare worker has an angle going, huh? Unbelievable."

"I'm really sorry, Mr. Kaiba!" Kisara stated quickly, "If I had known about it, I never would have..."

"Oh, save the apologies, please." Seto chuckled, raising his hand in protest. "Everyone has an angle, it's just a fact of life."

Kisara was taken aback by this comment. "That's a pretty cynical point of view." she commented.

"Don't sound so naive, Miss Ishtar." Seto said. "Surely working in show business, you'd have learned by now that everybody has a little larceny in them, an ulterior motive."

"I am not naive." Kisara protested. "And just for the record, neither Isis nor I work _angles._"

Seto frowned, and Kisara did the same. "Well, if that letter wasn't an angle, I'd like to know what it was." he demanded, pushing his chair closer to hers.

Kisara did the same. "I don't appreciate your implying that my sister's a..."

"What's to imply?" Seto asked. "I've got no grudge, no disdain. The girl knows how to work the system, how to use her resources. She took initiative, it worked, and we're here. No need to get worked up over a simple business exchange."

~Q.N~

On the dance floor, Isis and Mahad were watching the two from their spot on the floor, smiling fondly at the pair as they pushed their chairs closer together.

"They're getting along well." Mahad said.

Isis nodded in agreement. "And so quickly, too."

"Isn't that nice?"

~Q.N~

"All I'm saying is that people working angles is a completely normal part of the business." Seto explained to a disgruntled Kisara. "It's no different than signing contracts and working the crowds at galas and premier nights for movies. I would have done the same thing if I were in Isis's place."

Kisara sighed. "Mr. Kaiba." she said, "since the chances of us seeing each other again are incredibly slim, I don't think it's important for us to go on arguing."

Seto raised a brow at how she chose to back out of the argument so casually, but nonetheless smiled moments later and raised his glass up. "I'll drink to that."

Kisara smiled. "Be my guest." She raised her glass up as well, and they clinked the two glasses together.

~Q.N~

"Hey, if this keeps up, we'll practically be in-laws before the dance is over." Mahad joked, looking over at Seto and Kisara sharing a toast back at the table.

Isis smiled, the gesture reaching her voice. "Well, I don't mind if you don't." she said.

Mahad sighed. "It's a shame we're leaving town tonight." he stated.

"That is a shame." Isis agreed, looking back at Seto and her sister. "But I guess it doesn't make much of a difference; we're leaving tomorrow, anyway."

Mahad turned back to his dancing partner, "Where you guys headed?"

Isis smiled. "Vermont." she answered. "We're booked for the holidays."

"Vermont, huh?"

"Oh, Vermont should be beautiful this time of the year, with all that snow." she explained dreamily. Mahad smiled fondly at the way she looked when she brought up the snow. If possible, she looked even more beautiful than before.

"Yeah." he agreed, his voice only above a whisper. "Hey, you know something?"

"What." she asked curiously.

"Vermont should be beautiful this time of year, all that snow..."

Isis blinked. "That's... what I just said." she told him.

Mahad's eyes widened slightly, and then he laughed. "We seem to be getting a little mixed up." he said.

"Well, maybe it's the music." she replied, smiling up at him.

He smiled handsomely back. "Maybe it isn't only the music." he responded, causing her to blush. Still flustered, she allowed him to lead her onto the veranda outside, a wide area which usually occupied more tables and chairs for more guests, but was now vacant for the colder weather, since guests wouldn't want to sit outside anyway. As they continued to dance on the now empty concrete floor, Isis couldn't take her eyes off her partner, except when he would spin her around, for the first time noticing how handsome he was. He led her up a couple steps, leading to another, smaller terrace used for seating in the summer months, twirling her again before they came to rest at the railing, decorated by flowers. From inside the restaurant, they heard the song change, and Isis smiled.

"Ever seen _White Christmas?_" she asked with a coy grin.

"Sorry; never been a big Bing Crosby fan." Mahad said with a smirk. "But... doesn't this song go a little something like this:" He asked, continuing to lead her through their dance as he started singing.

"_The best things;_

_Happen while you're dancing;_

_Things that you would not do at home;_

_Come naturally on the floor."_

He twirled her around the terrace before dipping her, and then bringing her back up again. They continued to spin around their new dance floor from there.

"_For dancing;_

_Soon becomes romancing;_

_When you hold a girl in your arms;_

_That you've never held before."_

Their cheeks brushed together for a moment. And they both smiled.

_"Even guys with two left feet;_

_Come out alright if the girl is sweet;_

_If, by chance, their cheeks should meet;_

_While dancing."_

_"Proving that the best things;_

_Happen while you dance."_

Mahad didn't know the rest of the lyrics from there, so he stopped singing, and gave Isis a final twirl. The music kept playing from inside as they went down the stairs of the terrace arm-in-arm, back onto the veranda, high-kicking with each step down. Instead of going back inside the restaurant, they ran over by the edge of a dock, where Mahad brought Isis into a waltz, the two gracefully spinning around the veranda. He spun her around, and she pirouetted with all the skill of a ballerina, before he dipped her again. She spun around him, before he brought her back to his body, and the two slid and twirled in tempo with one another.

Isis broke away from him after a while and ran onto the dock, spinning around one of the metal poles holding up the planks over the cape. She jumped over the water, and landed safely back on the dock's wooden surface. Mahad was surprised by the brazen move, but was eager to follow in her place when she glanced at him with a playful, almost daring smirk on her pretty lips. So he ran up to her, and jumped around the same pole. Before he made it all the way around, she ran over to the pole across from them, and made the jump over the water again from there. He ran over to her and did the same, only jumping a little higher. She ducked as he flew over her and laughed freely, running over to the next pole and jumped over again. Mahad followed her actions for a final time before catching her waist with his hands, leading her back over to the veranda with a spin.

"Eventually, you know you're going to fall in." He told her.

"I just do it to see if you'll follow me." she giggled as he dipped her over the edge of the dock. When he brought her back up, she twirled back over to the other end of the dock, and he ran right after her. She stepped onto a large canoe, overturned and elevated above the water.

"I see you like it dangerous." he said jokingly, even though he followed her onto the boat as well, and tap dance with her.

"If you can't take the heat, get out of the tango." She shot back, snapping her fingers in his face, before trotting over to the other side of the boat, flailing her skirt.

He laughed. "Baby," he replied, clapping in time to her steps as he followed her, "if you're hot, than I must be scalding."

She laughed, and moved her hips a little more as he went around her, running her hands up and down her body as she did so. Mahad was quick to notice the more sensual movements, his pace slowing a bit.

Isis smirked. "Hot enough for you now?" she asked, clapping her hands together.

They spun around and clapped their hands in sync, before turning to face each other. Mahad's face was dark red, and his eyes were focused on where her hands had been. "I-I-I've seen ice c-cubes hotter than that." he stuttered, before they spun around and clapped again.

They spun around again, and he grabbed her waist, gently pulling her with him. She smirked.

"Don't worry," She smirked, "I've got Egyptian blood in me; I can go as hot as you want."

Mahad let go of her waist and pretended to faint off of the canoe, dropping back onto the dock of his feet. This time she followed his steps, jumping off the boat, and he caught her in his arms. He let her down, and the two struck a pose with their arms in the air. Then they ran back across the dock over to the veranda, Isis in the lead as usual. But Mahad caught up to her just as their feet hit the concrete, and his arm caught her at her midriff, leading her through a spin, a twirl, another twirl, and then he let go. She spun, and he followed her, the two clasping hands and shuffling back and forth, before twirling again. Mahad caught her waist and dipped her, then brought her back up and spun her around. He raised their arms up and she spun underneath them. They twisted through spins twirls, and another dip, before Mahad got on one knee. Isis danced around him in a full circle, before falling back into his arms.

Their dance ended in this position, with the two dance partners panting heavily, and looking into each other's eyes with awe, especially Isis. She was beyond amazed that he could dance like _that_, and even more so that he was able to keep up with her. It was easy for Kisara; they had been dancing together for years (even if Isis _did_ slow down the pace when they were dancing together. She had always been the better dancer of the two, and Kisara the better singer), but for him to be so in tune with her, dancing with her for the first time, it was just so... incredible. She realized then that her eyelashes were fluttering, and that he was smiling oh-so handsomely at her again. If possible, her heartbeat quickened, and she smiled back at him, her cheeks going red. Wait... did their faces just move... _closer_?! His lips moved, like he was about to say something.

Before anything more could transpire, however, Kisara stepped out onto the veranda, right at the same time the music in the restaurant changed, and with it the mood. She eyed the two from their current position suspiciously, wondering just _how far _their dance had gone. She knew Isis wasn't that type, but she didn't know if Mahad _was_. Actually, at first glance, she thought he was gay, but she couldn't really know for sure. For all she knew, If she had chosen not to leave her conversation with Mr. Kaiba, Mahad might have taken Isis backstage to do the _horizontal tango_. Even if Isis was the older sister, Kisara still felt some responsibility to look out for Isis's wellbeing, just as Isis looked out for her own.

"Anyone want to explain to me what's going on?" she asked, more like demanded, really. Isis and Mahad quickly looked up at her, both their faces turning bright red. Mahad tried to stammer out an answer that wouldn't get him a fist to his face, but kept tripping over his words. Isis lifted herself off of Mahad, and beat him to an explanation.

"Sorry," she said, "I got a little carried away with the, ah, the dance."

"Yeah, she... carried me right... with her," Mahad agreed, standing up as well, "I-I don't weigh very much."

Kisara looked between the two as they walked over to her, holding hands. The gesture didn't escape her, but she decided to let it go for now. After all, this was going to be the only night they'd see each other. No harm could come from a little crush for either of them.

"So who topped?" Kisara asked, smirking as the red returned to both of their faces with a vengeance.

"Kisara!" Isis whined.

"It's not like that; I swear!" Mahad promised, holding up his hands.

Kisara giggled. "Well, come on." She said, holding her hand out to Isis, "We'd better change for the last number."

"I-I'll see you after the show." Mahad stammered as the girls were about to leave. Before they could, however, Novello came out, looking troubled, and slightly confused.

"The Sheriff's here." He told the sisters. "He's in my office with a warrant to arrest both of you."

Isis and Kisara looked worriedly at one another, and Kisara turned back to Novello. "The Sheriff?" she said, her voice troubled.

Mahad, who had been minding his business until the police were brought up, walked over to the group. "What's up? What's going on?" he asked Isis.

Isis rolled her eyes. "Ugh, the manager at the hotel we were staying at claims we burnt a hole in the rug of our room, and he's trying to fine us $2,000." she stated, looking completely irritated about the whole thing.

Mahad's eyes widened. "$2,000?!" he exclaimed, "For a tiny hole in a rug?! Wait, where were you two staying?"

"The Ritz-Carlton."

"...Yeah, that explains it." Mahad said, having been there himself.

"Yeah, and on top of that, we sneaked our bags out of our room." Kisara added.

"That doesn't help." Mahad agreed. "Where are they now? Your bags, I mean."

"In our dressing room."

"Dressing room..." Mahad muttered to himself, looking over at the door inside that led to the office area of the restaurant. He thought for a moment, then turned back to Isis. "Look, I'll tell you what: You girls go and pack, and Seto and I'll take care of this mess for you." he said, gently pushing the two back inside.

"No, no, no, no. We don't want to cause you any trouble." Kisara said, turning back to face Mahad with Isis.

"Trust me, it's no trouble at all." Mahad replied.

"I know, but Mr. Kaiba already..." Kisara protested.

"Don't worry about Seto." Mahad told her, "We like to take care of our friends."

"We're practically strangers." Kisara stated, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, we'd like to take care of that, too." Mahad responded.

"But you might get yourself in a lot of trouble." Isis said, "Why should you? I mean, what would you get out of it?"

Mahad closed his eyes and put his right hand over his heart. "45 minutes, all to myself." he declared.

"Huh?" the sisters queried simultaneously.

"Oh, just go on. Hurry up, girls." Mahad said, pushing them into the restaurant again. "Come on, come on. Go on!" Mahad urged, eventually getting them to concede and head towards the dressing room. He turned back to Novello once the two were gone, walking over to him.

"Look," he began, "you go back to the office and stall the sheriff."

"But Mr. Sehhr, how will I stall..." Novello asked.

"Oh, make up a story. Tell him anything; tell him... uh, tell him the girls have to finish the show or something." Mahad said, before running past Novello and into the restaurant to get Seto.

_45 minutes to myself, and the girl of my dreams. _He thought. _Hell, for that, I'd slice off my right arm and eat it! This is nothing!_

* * *

Well, there you have it! I hope it was well worth the wait. If anyone found me explaining Isis and Mahad's dancing either too confusing or too annoying, just watch the youtube video of Danny Kaye and Vera Ellen doing the actual dance for this song. It's pretty much exactly the same thing except for the extra lines Isis and Mahad say during the dance. I just added those in because I thought it was cute (until I I actually read through what I had wrote, and I fainted because it was just...so...pleashippy...and **_hot!_ **)

So, to clarify: The hotel I mention near the end, never actually been there myself. I just looked up the top 10 hotels in Florida, and that was one of the ones that came up. I just wanted to make the conversation sound a bit more realistic.

So, regarding pairings, for anyone who's curious, NO, Isis does not like Seto, nor does Seto like Isis (Not that I'm against the pairing; I actually think it has potential under certain circumstances), They just have a mutual respect for one another at this point. Isis isn't in love with Mahad either, she just has a small crush on him. Mahad is **deeply, _madly,_**and **_totally_ **in love with Isis. Seto has some small feelings for Kisara, though at this point it's mostly a physical attraction, and Kisara herself does _not _like Seto at all. Don't worry, though. They'll get together eventually... or _WILL _they?! Muahahaha!

Alright, that's all for now! I'll get straight to chapter 5 now. I think you'll all enjoy that one a LOT! It's one of the funniest freaking scenes in the whole movie!

R&R at your leisure... unless you want to keep me from sinking into a state of depression influenced by suicidal thoughts...just kidding. I'm not THAT desperate for reviews!


	5. Sisters or Brothers?

Cool; I managed to get this done within a few hours, with a six hour nap in-between! I'm happy.

Ok, I hope you'll get a good laugh out of this chapter, since I was laughing the whole time I wrote the scene where Seto and Mahad... well, just read to find out what they do!

No real warnings for this chapter, short of some minor swearing on Seto's part, and some minor perviness on Mahad's.

One more thing, I'd like to repeat what I said in my previous chapter: for any and all who have been reading this, please, _please_ give me some reviews, just to let me know how I'm doing. It would mean a lot to me to know that someone cares enough to take the time to write a little sentence or two to tell me that what I'm doing is worth while, if for no other reason than to improve upon myself.

Thanks for all who have been reading so far, though, even if you haven't reviewed this. Now, onto chapter 5!

* * *

"Seto." Mahad called out as he made his way over to the table. When he had Seto's attention, he continued, "Seto, the girls are in trouble. We have to help them."

"What's up now?" Seto asked, slightly interested at the mention of the sisters being in any sort of trouble.

"Just come on." Mahad demanded, grabbing Seto's arm and all but dragging him out of his seat. In spite of Seto's protests and utterances of a few curse words, Mahad continued to pull him towards the office door. "They're in big trouble, and they need our help."

"Just tell me what's going on!" Seto demanded, trying to get out of Mahad's grasp.

"Somebody is trying to get... I'll explain it to you when we get backstage." Mahad said.

~Q.N~

A few minutes later Seto had been brought up to speed on what was going on, and as they made their way into a vacant office room, Seto turned on Mahad.

"Ok, now answer me this:" he said, "Why don't we just pay the asshole the $2,000? Obviously that's all he wants out of this."

"Are you kidding?!" Mahad asked. "You want to pay off a chiseling rat like that?!"

"Then what do you want me for if we're not trying to buy the guy out?"

"I need you to call a cab or a shuttle outside while I help the girls get out." Mahad said, leading Seto towards the back door.

"That would make us accomplices." Seto said.

"You think I don't know that?! Look, they're nice girls, okay?" Mahad stated, "I don't want to see them get arrested over some stupid rug!"

"Yet you won't sign a check for $2,000 to have the guy drop the charges." Seto said dryly. He shook his head. "I don't know how I let you talk me into these stupid situations."

"In all fairness, we _could _have gone to dinner with my sister." Mahad said, in spite of meeting Isis still not fully over this. Mana meant a lot to him, after all.

"Fine, fine! I'll hail you a freaking cab!" Seto said. "Why the hell do I listen to you? Give me one good reason!"

"Let's just say we're doing it for an old friend in the army." Mahad shot back.

"Yeah, I know; it's not good, but it's a reason, right? I get it!" he retorted sarcastically.

"Will you go already?" Mahad said, swatting him towards the door.

~Q.N~

"You girls get down to the airport and hop on the next plane out of here." Mahad told them as he helped them pack away their things in the dressing room.

"Here, Mahad!" Isis called, tossing him a dress to put in with the others.

"We can't, though." Kisara told him, closing one of their suitcases. "Our tickets aren't good until tomorrow."

"Yeah, but you've got to get out _tonight_." Mahad pressed as Isis tossed him some more clothes. He thought for a moment, before an idea crossed his mind. Seto would _murder _him by the end of the night, but...

_45 minutes..._

_Isis... girl of his dreams..._

"Tickets!" he exclaimed, diving into his pockets. "Wait a minute! How do the two of you feel about trains?"

"Never been on a train before." Kisara said.

"The Hogwarts express is the reason the first Harry Potter movie is my favorite." Isis stated.

_Harry Potter?! Oh, you really __**are**__ my soul mate! _Mahad thought, wishing that he could pick Isis up and kiss her right there.

"Then here, take these." He said, handing the envelope with his and Seto's train tickets in them over to Isis. "This'll get you on the 1 o'clock train to Manhattan, but the train passes through Pine Tree, Vermont. You'll be able to get off there."

Isis's eyes lit up. "That's perfect! That's exactly where we need to be for our show."

"Yeah, but we can't take your tickets." Kisara protested, "What will Mr. Kaiba think?"

Mahad sighed; again with her and Seto's opinions. He'd never met a woman so eager to not get on Seto's bad side. Well, maybe that wasn't entirely true, but she was certainly the most noticeable. "Don't worry; it was his idea. Now hurry up, you've gotta get going!" he said quickly.

"His idea?" Kisara asked suspiciously, examining the tickets as Isis stashed them in her purse. That just didn't sound like the same Seto Kaiba that she had just had the displeasure of meeting a short while ago. Still, first impressions could be misleading.

"Yeah." Mahad assured her.

"Are you sure?" she continued. "He won't think it's some kind of an _angle_?"

Mahad rolled his eyes and walked over to Kisara, gently grabbing her arm and leading her towards the window of the dressing room. "I told you it was his idea." he repeated agitatedly, "Now come on!" He picked her up bridle style and eased her out of the window. Isis ran over with a suitcase under each arm, along with her purse and a coat. She lifted one leg out of the window, and then the other.

"Mahad, we'll pay you back. Where can we reach you?" Isis asked.

"Oh, don't worry; we'll be in touch." Mahad promised, passing another suitcase to Kisara. "Now come on."

"Oh, wait! We still need the rest of our suitcases!" Isis exclaimed. "My whole life is on my laptop! It's in the bag over...!" she pointed, but Mahad put her arm down.

"Don't worry, we'll have Novello mail them to you. Now would you please go? Seto told the taxi to wait, I'm sure, but this is a busy city, so get going! Don't stop for anything, not even a midnight snack!" he said as the two finally got out the windows.

"Goodbye, Mahad!" Isis called as she and Kisara ran off. "Thank you!"

"Bye!" Kisara yelled.

"Bye!" Mahad called after them. When they were out of sight, Mahad went back into the dressing room, and looked around at what was left. Their costumes from the previous act were still there, as well as some of their makeup and a CD with their faces on it. Mahad examined the CD for a minute, another idea popping into his head. He went over to the bag that Isis had pointed to, and unzipped it. Her laptop was at the bottom of the bag, underneath crossword books, a mystery novel, a deck of cards, and some clothes (including a matching bra and panties set which Mahad was _desperately _trying to tell his libido was _not _lingerie). He turned on the Mac, and the login screen came on. When he tried to access Isis's user program, it asked for a password. He expected as much. The same thing happened when he tried to access the user program titled 'guest', the only other login on the computer. Still, he had yet to see a computer that Seto couldn't hack. That part would be easy. Getting Seto to go along with this would be the hard part. Setting the laptop next to the CD on the dresser, Mahad quickly walked out of the room.

Outside, Seto was talking to Novello. Mahad walked up to them quickly, only hearing the tail end of what Novello had been saying.

"...and I can't stall him for much longer." the nervous manager said.

"So whatever happened to paying the $2,000?" Seto remarked as Mahad joined them. Mahad rolled his eyes.

"Look, the girls are already on the taxi. All we need to do now is give then a good head start." Mahad reassured his partner. "Wait... I've got an idea!" he said, turning to Novello. "Look, if you could just stall them for just a few minutes more..."

"Well, I'll try, but they're eating me out of business already." Novello stated.

"Well, then give then their main course, and then we'll give them their just desserts, okay." Mahad said, pushing Novello back to his office.

"Okay." he said dejectedly.

"Come on, Seto." Mahad said, grabbing him by the arm once Novello left. "I think this will work."

"Something tells me I'm not gonna like it." Seto stated, some wariness evident in his voice.

"Something tells me you're gonna hate it!" Mahad shot back.

"Then why should I do it?" Seto protested.

"Let's just say..."

"We're doing it for a friend in the army." they said in unison.

"Yeah, I know. I've heard that one before..."

~Q.N~

"Listen, Officer!" A disgruntled looking man said between bites of a lobster tail. "I haven't got all night to wait here while _you_ eat free food!" he exclaimed. "You got your warrant, now arrest those girls!"

The Sheriff ignored the angry hotel manager and continued eating his steak. Of all the pointless warrants he'd seen over the years, this one had to be at the top! This was a complete waste of his time, arresting these two girls for a torn rug. To be honest, he didn't blame the two for not wanting to pay the money. They'd paid for their room, and whatever extra expenses they had used while at the hotel. In addition, there wasn't any solid evidence that said that they put a hole in that rug. It was just the manager's word against theirs. Unfortunately, he had to take the call, since the manager did have a warrant, and this was, technically, a charge for vandalism and arson.

But he wasn't going to take this seriously for one minute.

"Look, we already agreed we'd let them finish their show before pressing any charges. They still have a commitment to the owner, after all." the sheriff said, gesturing towards a contract stating the girls' would work at Novello's that night from 10 to midnight.

The hotel manager looked as though he were about to pop a blood vessel. "I didn't agree!" he hollered. "It was _his_ idea!" He pointed at Novello.

"I know my rights, buddy!" Novello stated, "Those young ladies have an honored commitment with my restaurant, so you don't get them until _after_ they finish the show!"

"Well, how long is it going to take?!" the man demanded.

"Well..." Novello paused. "It'll only be..." before he could finish, the band started playing outside the door, and the room's three occupants stopped to listen.

"Wait a minute." Novello said, "That's their music." Smiling, he turned to the sheriff and clasped his hands together. "Can I get you anything else, sheriff?" he asked pleasantly, mind now somewhat at ease.

"How about another cup of coffee?" the sheriff asked as he took another bite of his steak.

~Q.N~

"Ladies and Gentlemen," the conductor on stage announced, "we present a surprise for you, courtesy of Seto Kaiba and Mahad Sehhr."

"Did you have to tell them to give our names?" Seto whispered to Mahad from behind the giant, sequined blue fans.

"Oh, like people wouldn't have recognized us, anyway." Mahad spat back. "Just stick with the plan."

Seto had managed to hack into Isis's laptop and hook it up to the speakers behind the band. Now that he and Mahad were in position, one of the band's members reached down and clicked the 'play' button on the window that was currently open. One of Isis and Kisara's songs started playing, then, and when it started, Seto and Mahad lowered the fans, revealing that the two men were wearing matching blue dresses, makeup, high heels, and headbands with sequined blue butterflies on them. The crowd roared with laughter, which only grew in volume as the two began to lip sync to the lyrics of the song:

**Both: **_Sister, sisters;_

_There were never such devoted sisters!_

They took a few steps forward, and Mahad struck a pose with the fan he was holding, swaying his hips in a feminine way.

**Mahad:** _Never had to have a chaperone, no sir!_

Seto used his fan to smack Mahad as though he were using a baseball bat, before pointing to him while he 'sung' his part.

**Seto:** _I'm here to keep my eye on her!_

**Both:** _Caring, sharing;_

_Every little thing that we are wearing;_

At this line, Mahad began rocking his hips again, and picked up a bit of the skirt of his dress, swaying the material around. Seto did the same, minus the skirt flailing part, and the two started bumping hips, earning more laughs from the crowds, half of which had taken out their phones at the beginning of the song and were now recording the little dance number.

**Mahad:** _When a certain gentlemen arrived from Rome..._

Mahad slid over to his left, then back to Seto, passing him his fan, but Seto dropped it. Quickly he went to retrieve it as Mahad slid back to the left again, swaying his hips and posing in a supermodel-like fashion. Seto hid behind the two fans, just as Kisara had in the previous act.

**Seto: **_She wore the dress, and I stayed home!_

Seto quickly handed Mahad's fan back to him, and the two held them above their heads as though they were taking cover from the rain.

**Both:** _All kinds of weather, we stick together;_

_The same in the rain or sun!_

_~Oo-oooh!_

They fluttered the fans a little bit before throwing them back. Their mouths formed little 'o's' at the 'ooh' part of the song. When the next lyrics came on, Seto covered Mahad's face with his fan, before Mahad quickly swatted it away, and did the same with his fan to Seto, though his partner made no move to get the fan out of his own face, so Mahad just lowered it and went behind Seto's back, the two nodding in opposite directions at the end of the verse.

**Both: **_Two different faces, but in tight places;_

_We think and we act as one!_

_Uh-huh!_

**Both: **_Those who've_

_Seen us;_

Both sauntered over to the right of the floor, unfolding the fans and hiding behind them.

**Both: **_Know that not a thing could come between us!_

They walked to the left, and closed the fans, holding them at their sides.

**Both: **_Many men have tried to split us up;_

_But no one can._

They tapped their feet to the song a bit, before walking back over to the right and opening up their fans again.

**Both: **_Lord help the mister;_

_Who comes between me and my sister!_

They looked at each other and gave cutesy, fake little smiles to each other, which quickly turned to mocking glares (well, just Mahad's. Seto's anger was more than real!)

**Both: **_And Lord help the sister;_

_Who comes between me and my man!_

Mahad started high kicking like a Rockette dancer, even though his legs didn't go nearly as high, and moved his fan from side to side.

_My God, that sadistic bastard's actually enjoying this! _Seto thought in disgust as he tried to slowly exit the stage. He was quickly stopped as Mahad whacked Seto in the back with his fan.

**Both: **_Sisters!_

Seto narrowed his eyes, and bagan marching back over to Mahad to beat the tar out of him. Before he had the chance, however, Mahad had hit Seto with the fan again, this time in the head. The crowd was laughing so hard that most were crying, and Mahad joined in, unable to control himself. What made the performance even more entertaining was that through the whole thing, Seto had maintained the same expression of utterly pissed off.

**Both: **_Sisters!_

Seto just rolled his eyes and stood perfectly still, simply allowing Mahad to smack him one more time before the song came to an end, and they faced each other, once again glaring.

**Both: **_Sister, don't come between me and my man!_

They struck a pose, and the audience applauded, shouting bravos, bravas, making wolf calls, and whistling at the two. The two bowed to the audience, Mahad taking extra time to ham it up by curtsying and pretending to flirt with a few of the men near the dance floor. Seto looked back as he was running towards the dressing room, and noticed Mahad's antics. He rolled his eyes again, five seconds away from punching the imbecile. For now, he chose to run back over to Mahad and drag him back to their escape route, while Mahad continued to blow kisses and wave goodbye to the audience with his fan.

Once inside the office area, Mahad broke out of Seto's grip, and said, "Come on, we're a hit! Let's take another bow."

"As much as I enjoyed publicly humiliating myself," Seto said through gritted teeth, "I think I'd much rather, oh, I don't know... NOT GO TO PRISON! Now come on!" he hollered, grabbing Mahad again and running towards the dressing room. Just as they passed the manager's office, the sheriff came out with Novello. When he spotted the two running towards the dressing room, he shouted after them.

"Hey! Hey, you two!"

"Run, run run!" Seto told Mahad, pushing him into the dressing room, closing the door behind them. "You've done it again!"

The three men ran after them, and the sheriff tried to open the door, but the knob wouldn't budge. "Open up!" he demanded. "Come on; open up!"

"I want it put on the record that this is all your fault!" Seto continued to rant as they began to stack chairs and boxes in the room over the door. "If we get out of this, I swear I'm going to..." before he could continue, boxes fell on top of him, and he quickly shielded his head with his arms. The coat rack in the room fell over on top of Mahad, ironically falling on the arm he had 'broken' when he had saved Seto's life. Having no time to change, they quickly grabbed their clothes from off the dresser and climbed out the windows, still wearing the dresses. They ran around the building, earning the bewildered stares and mocking laughs of anyone they passed by.

"Boy, girl, boy girl..." Seto muttered bitterly as he ran towards the street, trying to hail a passing taxi. The cab stopped, and they opened the back door. "To the Newport Resort." Seto told the driver, "I'll pay you to speed through all traffic! Just go!"

* * *

So tell me... who else was laughing their asses off at Seto and Mahad dressed in drag and singing the "Sisters" song?! Want to see the real thing done by Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye? I'll put the link on my homepage for you to watch if you want! It's even funnier when you're actually watching it, and not having someone explain it to you in words! Don't ask how Mahad managed to get Seto to agree to doing that; even I don't know!

Ok, even if no one requests me to draw that scene of Mahad and Seto dancing in those dresses, I'm DEFINITELY going to draw that! Their expressions would be priceless!

Anyway, I think I have just enough time left today to get one more chapter in, and then I'll take a break for the night, maybe play through some video games or work on that picture I mentioned. Speaking of, as usual if anyone wants me to draw some fanart for this story, from ANY of the chapters (ESPECIALLY that scene of Isis and Mahad dancing together in the last chapter), just tell me and I'll get on it as soon as my chronic laziness will allow me to!

R&R at your leisure!


	6. Train Ride to Vermont

I was going to upload this last night, but for some weird reason, I've been losing my internet access at night lately. But, oh well; it's on here now, and that's all I care about.

I took _a lot _of liberties with this chapter; almost half of what happens in this chapter didn't go on in the actual movie. But, in my opinion, the changes are hilarious! Let's see what everyone else in the world that will read this thinks.

Oh, yeah; I know I didn't put the links to the songs in here on my homepage yet. Sorry about that, I really am. I'll try to find time to put them on, so in the meantime, patience please.

Warnings for this chapter: more swearing, _highly _suggestive material (because, it would seem, I am a pervert), and a lot of threatening and violence, mostly from Seto. Also, get ready, because there's going to be a lot more Mizu/blueshipping and Pleashipping in here.

That's it for now, so on with the show!

* * *

An hour later, Seto and Mahad were rushing towards their train, which was about to leave the station. They had picked up all of their luggage at their hotel, got changed into non-female centric clothes, and had sped back through the traffic to get to the station. They sprinted the last few yards to get to the near tail-end of the train, hopping into the car's open door just before the conductor closed it.

"Cutting it kinda close there, you two." the conductor said, laughing at the two panting young men. "Do the two of you have space on this car?"

"Yeah, we've got tickets." Seto said, glancing over at Mahad. But his partner made no move to get the tickets out. Seto frowned. "Mahad." he said forcefully.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"The tickets;" Seto ordered shortly, "get out the tickets!"

"Tickets? Oh, right, the tickets!" Mahad said, going through the pockets in his dark gray hoodie and jeans, pretending to search for the tickets he knew were no longer there. "Uh... uh..." he passed his suitcase over to Seto so that he could use both of his hands to search. "Hold this for me a minute." he said, continuing his search.

Seto's brow furrowed. "What the _hell _are you doing?" he asked.

"What's it look like? I'm looking for the tickets!" Mahad said, feigning annoyance.

"Did you take them out of your suit?" Seto asked.

"Yeah; I think so. Wait a minute, my suit's right there." he replied, reaching over Seto to search through the pockets of his black tuxedo. He paused, looking up at Seto. "Uh, what am I looking for again?"

"Our tickets!" Seto demanded. "You know, so we won't get booted off at the next stop and have to _walk _all the way to New York!"

"Oh, right, right!" Mahad nodded, searching through the tux again. "Oh, wait..." he said, pulling something out of one of the pockets. Seeing what it was, he blushed, and quickly put it in one of the pockets on his hoodie. "Ah... guess that's not it!" he squeaked quickly.

Seto did a double take. "Was that... women's underwear?!" he asked dumbfounded, not sure whether to be disgusted or envious.

"No, it was tickets..." Mahad stated, "I specifically remember you saying that you wanted me to get out the tickets..."

"Gentlemen... do either of you have tic...?" The conductor asked.

"Hold that thought, Gandalf." Seto said, holding up a finger to the conductor's face, and turning back towards Mahad. "Where did you get _those_?!" he asked, pointing to the pocket where the article in question was currently being hidden. "Don't tell me..._don't _tell me that you were getting action, while I was sitting back at the table, listening to Snow White quote Oprah _freaking _Winfrey!"

Mahad turned completely red. "_No! _It's nothing like that! I just got these from..." Mahad paused, pondering whether saying that he stole Isis's underwear from one of her discarded bags sounded better than just lying. Probably not. "Y'know what, actually? Yeah, we did have a little fun! Not _too _much fun, but a little fun, okay? What's the matter; jealous?" he inquired.

"Well, yeah!" Seto exclaimed. "She was hot; they both were! What do you think I was _thinking _about doing while I had the one talking to me?" Mahad scowled, hoping he was thinking about doing it with Kisara, and not Isis.

"Uh, hate to interrupt this little dispute..." the conductor interrupted, looking impatiently between the two. "But if you have tickets, I need to see them right now."

"Well, I don't seem to have them." Mahad admitted. "Are you sure you don't have them, Seto?"

"_Me?!_" Seto exclaimed, "Don't be stupid; I specifically told you to get the tickets from Mokuba! I even saw you put them in your pocket!"

"Well, they're gone." Mahad said, pretending to sound surprised. "I must have left them with my bra." he said flatly.

"Gentlemen, either you have tickets, or you don't." The conductor stated.

"Look," Seto said, "Sorry for the inconvenience, but we've already paid for a drawing room on this train; Drawing Room A, it should be listed under the name 'Kaiba'. If you'd just check your records, I guarantee our names will be on there, scheduled for tonight."

"Well, I'm afraid you're mistaken, sir." the conductor stated, looking over the list on his clipboard, "Because the people who booked Drawing Room A have already checked in. It, and every other available space on this train, is occupied. You can either purchase tickets and sit up all night in the club car, or you'll be dropped off at our next stop in Jacksonville, which you'd still have to pay for."

"I am _not _paying for my tickets _twice_!" Seto stated, "Now I told you that we've already booked a drawing room, so clearly whoever is in there now has either forged their tickets, or taken ours. I want this sorted out _this instant_, or I'm suing this whole God-damn-!"

Before Seto could say any more, Mahad threw his hand over his mouth, "Don't listen to him, he has a mental illness." Mahad said quickly. "Dementia. Parents' deaths. It was tragic. We'll buy tickets and wait in the club car. Two fares to Vermont, please." he requested, removing his hand from Seto.

Seto rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever. Two tickets to..." Catching up on what Mahad said, he turned to him with raised eyebrows. "Vermont? We're going to New York!"

"Oh, it must be beautiful this time of year in Vermont, Seto." Mahad explained. "All that snow?"

"What was that you said about dementia, now?" Seto queried before turning back to the conductor. "Two tickets to New York."

"How much more to Vermont?" Mahad pressed on.

"Shut up about Vermont!" Seto said. "What's so important that we've got to be a state away from New York?"

"Oh, I think it'll do us a lot of good, Seto." Mahad stated, "All that... snow, and the fir trees, and the... clean, fresh air, and the... brrrr! Great change of pace, just what we need. So we're going to Vermont- I mean, we _should _go to Vermont."

Seto smiled. "Gee, you're absolutely right Mahad; we _should _go to Vermont!" he said, in a blatantly fake voice. Then he frowned. "But we're not; we're going to New York. I'm sure you can find all that stuff there."

The conductor, at this point ready to just throw the two off the train at their current speed, just groaned out, "Look, whether you want to go to New York or Vermont, the cost for two tickets is $970." he ground out tightly, "If you decide to change your minds, you can exchange your tickets for an extra $15 fee, each. Otherwise, just pay for your tickets, and go sit in the club car!"

"Fine, fine!" Seto conceded, "Mahad, get out your wallet; come on!"

"Uh..." Mahad stuttered, before looking at Seto, "Thing is, I don't have any cash on me, either."

"Let me guess; you gave that to 'Clair' for a 'nutcracker', huh?!" Seto asked.

"Ok, two things!" Mahad stated, pointing a finger at Seto, "_One_:that was a _very_ clever analogy! _Two_: don't you _**dare**_ talk about her that way, or I swear to God I'll..."

"Yeah, you tell yourself that." Seto said sarcastically, before handing their luggage over to Mahad. "Here." he said, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his wallet.

The conductor rolled his eyes. "nine-hundred and seven-!"

"Yeah, yeah; save your breath." Seto told him, taking out the money and putting it in his hand. "You'll be needing it to testify when I take this whole freaking train company to court."

"He doesn't mean that." Mahad said quickly.

"Oh, yes I do!" Seto said.

"He hasn't taken his medication tonight; he doesn't know what he's saying." Mahad continued; "Which way to the club car?"

The conductor passed Mahad their change, and simply pointed his thumb behind him, not even bothering to say another word as he went straight past them, with the desire to get as far away as possible.

"What the hell is your problem?!" Seto demanded as they made their way to the club car.

"You know I always use the crazy excuse whenever you try to get a lawsuit against us." Mahad explained.

"Aside from that!" Seto yelled. "We shouldn't have to pay for tickets; we have a drawing room in our name! You know what, I'm going over there and demanding whoever's in our room to come out and...!"

"And what? Without the tickets, we can't prove that we reserved that room." Mahad stated.

"You're telling me you'd rather wait out all night in a club car rather than trying to get our room; which we've already _paid for?!_"

"Well, forgive me for not wanting to start a civil dispute!" Mahad argued. "Look, we don't know the whole story, here. Maybe the company accidentally sold tickets for the same drawing room twice, okay? That's been happening a lot ever since people could start buying tickets online. I bet this is just a technical mix-up."

Mahad noticed that Seto was staring over his head, so he looked over his shoulder, and saw that they were passing by Drawing Room A. He looked back at Seto, just in time to see him lunge for the doorknob to the room. Mahad had enough time to react, catching Seto's arm and pushing him against the opposite wall, holding his arm behind his back. "Don't you dare start something, Seto!" he threatened him.

Seto ignored him and used his legs to push Mahad away from him. Mahad stumbled, but managed to straighten out in time to catch Seto again, and throw his body against the wall next to the door to Room A. Mahad attempted to hold Seto's face against the wall, while trying to body block him from the door. Unfortunately, Seto's hand managed to slip past Mahad's human shield, and found its way to the doorknob. He turned it, still trying to get out of Mahad's head lock. Mahad, who had been leaning against the door in order to keep Seto from getting to it, unintentionally opened the door when Seto turned the knob, revealing the two occupants inside. Who had been, as luck would have it, changing into night clothes. Mahad, in spite of his better judgment, glanced inside, and noticed the two sisters. Kisara, wearing a white bra and panties, was frozen in the process of putting on a blue nightgown, and Isis was lying on one of the beds, wearing only a pink-and-red candy cane striped bra and matching underwear. A moment of time seemed to freeze, and was quickly followed by the two girls giving a shriek and covering themselves with the nearest object, and Mahad quickly using all of his strength to shut the door as a bad nosebleed began to take over his violently red face. The two boys continued to violently struggle, until they were broken up by the same conductor who had sold them their tickets.

"Someone sent a complaint to me that two men were fighting outside Drawing Room A." he said, narrowing his eyes at the two. He pulled the two by their jackets through two more cars, until they arrived at the club car. A waiter looked up in interest from his place behind a bar, where he had been cleaning out dirty glasses.

The conductor threw the two inside the car, and glared at both of them. "Now look," he snarled, pointing a finger between the two. "I don't want any more trouble outta the two of you tonight." he told them. "If I get _one _more complaint, I'll have them stop the train and kick you both off before we even get to Jacksonville, New York, _**or**_ Vermont!" he turned to the barkeep, "Jackson." he said. "These two are to stay in the club car for the rest of the night. Give them whatever they want to eat and drink, just make sure they don't leave this car! If they do, you call me, you got it?!"

"Yes, sir." Jackson said, not even looking up from his work.

Satisfied, the conductor gave a final grunt in Mahad and Seto's direction, and turned on his heels, leaving the car. Once he had left, Seto and Mahad glanced at each other.

"When we get to New York, I'm calling my attorney, and we're suing!" Seto declared, walking over to one of the open booths. They were the only ones in the car, aside from the barkeep, so he felt comfortable to speak his mind in clear conscience. "This is great, just great! We've had to pay for our tickets twice, and now we've got to sit up all night!"

Mahad sighed and took the seat across from Seto. "Don't be so damn dramatic." he told him, dropping their luggage next to their seats. "If we had taken a plane we'd be sitting up all night anyway."

"Yeah; which is exactly why I wanted to take a train instead of a plane." Seto indulged, "So that instead of having to be sandwiched in by a bunch of fat, homely tourists all the way to New York, we could be sandwiched in between a blanket and a nice, warm, soft comfortable mattress." Seto said. "But no; _you _had to lose our tickets, and have me pay for two more instead of resolving the issue. And the train station had to give our room away to two girls wit-!"

And then it hit him, like two tons of bricks, dipped in quick-drying cement and decorated with oak wood! His face froze, and he stared, haunted and shell-shocked at Mahad from across the table. Mahad looked at him, completely terrified, and he sunk down into the booth a bit. _Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!_ _He knows! He knows! Shit! Shit!_

"Oh no." Seto murmured, shaking his head slowly back and forth, voice cold and dark, eyes hollow and sunken. "No, no. You wouldn't do this to me."

"W-wouldn't do what?" Mahad asked, picking at the cuticles of his nails in anxious terror. He outright expected Seto to lunge at him from right where he was, and attempt to strangle him, in spite of the presence of a witness. But he didn't expect what came next.

Seto's face contorted from the haunted glare that had taken over it, and in less than a second, he was smiling an eerie, foreboding smile from ear to ear. Somehow, this seemed to threaten Mahad even more than the possibility of being suffocated to death. Seto turned his gaze away from Mahad, focusing on the barkeep instead. The smile never left his face for a minute.

"Hey, Jackson." he called over to the barkeep, who looked up from the glass he was cleaning. "Could I get a bottle of Perrier over here? Unflavored." Seto asked in a disturbing, uncharacteristicly cheerful voice. The waiter nodded, going into one of the fridges behind the bar, and taking out a Perrier bottle. He walked around the bar, and over to their booth.

"Here you are, sir." He said, putting the drink on the table and using a bottle opener to take off the cap before walking back to the bar.

"Thank you." Seto said, raising the water up as though it were a bottle of beer. He then lifted the bottle to his lips and began taking giant gulps out of it. For several moments of awkward silence, the only thing that could be heard was Seto making gulping sounds as the water went down his throat. Feeling the need to break the silence (not necessarily to apologize, just to break some of tension in the room, Mahad opened his mouth.

"Uh... Seto?" he asked.

Seto did not respond, but continued to drink.

"Seto." Mahad pressed, but was quickly shushed by his partner holding up a finger, signaling for him to wait. Noticing the bottle was half empty, Mahad sighed and continued.

"You know, I don't think you should be drinking it like that..."

"Mahad." Seto interrupted him as he put down the bottle, his voice sickly sweet, "Can't you see I'm trying to enjoy a refreshing drink of water?" When no answer was given, he smiled even wider and picked the bottle up again. Seeing that there was no talking to him right now, Mahad simply held his breath and waited for him to down the entire bottle, while trying to remember the steps to giving CPR in his head.

A few seconds more, and the entire bottle was empty.

"Aa~aah!" Seto breathed out. He looked at Mahad, and smiled, at which his partner smiled uncomfortably back. Then, Seto flipped the bottle over in his hand so that the mouth was facing the ground and the bottom was looking up at the ceiling. Suddenly, his face once more contorted in appearance, this time to a look of pure rage. Right as this transformation occurred, he smashed the bottle onto the table, and pointed the now jagged edges at Mahad.

"Whoa-oh-oh-my-_God_!" Mahad practically screamed, raising his hands up and quickly moving out of the booth, backing into the bar. Seto followed him, keeping his new weapon targeted at Mahad. "Seto!" he called to the furious man, "Now, Seto, calm down, now's not the time for-!"

"Oh, I'd say it's the perfect time." Seto snarled. "This is _long _overdue!"

"Oh my God!" Jackson exclaimed reaching for a cord phone on the wall. Before he could reach it, however, Seto turned on him with the bottle.

"Don't even think about it." he spat, and the barkeeper held his hands up in submission. Seto nodded, and turned back to Mahad as he tried to slowly ease towards the other end of the cab.

"**Don't think for a **_**minute**_** that you're getting away, Sehhr!**" Seto said, walking towards him, "You turned me into a cross dresser and publicly humiliated me. You got me involved with the police. I almost lost my life trying to get on a train. And now... on top of all that... you _give_ away my nice, warm bed, and make me spend the night in some cold, crappy club car!" Seto backed Mahad into a corner, holding the bottle up to his neck. Mahad could feel a lump in his throat, and he swallowed hard. Seto narrowed his eyes at him. "You wouldn't do this to me, would you? After all the _**shit**_ I've done for you and your _stupid_ arm?!"

"Oh, dude, that is _cold_." Jackson commented, locking eyes with Mahad. "No wonder he wants to kill you; Hell, _I _want to kill you!"

"Thank you, Jackson." Seto said.

"Seto." Mahad breathed, "What are you going to do?"

Another moment of thick tension passed in the club car. The two were frozen in place. And then, it passed. Seto took the broken bottle, and threw it in the trash next to the bar, smashing it to pieces.

"I'm going back down to Drawing Room A." Seto declared, "I am knocking on that door. And if either of those two Ishtar sisters answers, I am going in there, taking them by roots of their silky hair, and with both hands, I'm going to-!"

As he turned toward the door to leave, the door opened, and two blue eyed ladies rushed in, effectively stopping Seto in his tracks.

"Oh, Mahad, Mr. Kaiba!" Isis exclaimed, running over to Seto and kissing both his cheeks. Mahad looked disappointed that she wasn't kissing him. "How can we ever thank you?" She went over to Mahad and kissed both his cheeks as well.

Mahad stared at Isis, eyes wide and grinning like an idiot, "Wow." he muttered, leaning forward a little.

"Ugh." Seto said loudly, turning away from the two and closing his eyes. "Please, spare me." Mahad quickly recoiled, and shot a glare at Seto, feeling a bit braver now that he wasn't within range of anything that could be used as a weapon.

"It was so sweet and generous of you." Kisara said, stepping in front of Seto and looking into his ice-blue eyes. "Mr. Sehhr told us you insisted on giving us the tickets, so thank you for this wonderful gift."

Seto silently nodded at her words, until she got to the part about Mahad, and then he turned to his partner, arms folded over his chest. The two locked eyes, and Mahad was certain that if such a thing as a telepathic link existed, Seto was definitely sending him waves of _You bastard, you bastard! _through such a link. But Mahad did not bat an eye. Once again, he had the advantage.

"Wasn't there something you, ah, wanted to say to the girls?" he asked haughtily. _Try telling them to their faces that you want to kick them out of the room __**you**__ 'gave' them, Seto. _Mahad thought, once again hoping for the existence of telepathy between the two.

While Seto wasn't able to hear Mahad's thoughts, he was more than aware of the situation: play nice, or become the official biggest asshole of the universe. He looked between the two girls, inclining their heads to hear what he supposedly wanted to say to them. Isis was wearing a goldenrod colored turtleneck and yellow fleece pajama bottoms, and a quick glance at her feet gave him a look at (he had to hold in his laughter), a pair of overly-fluffy, black fur slippers that looked like bear claws. Her sister had a pair as well, only blue, and they looked more like dragon claws. She also had on a white t-shirt and black sweatpants. Kisara's long white hair was down, and Isis's was up in a bun. It also looked like both had quickly put makeup on before coming out here. Now that he thought of it, why were they out here at all? Was it really necessary for them to come out this late to thank them; especially after what happened outside their room.

Ah, whatever. All he knew for sure right now was that Mahad had him in check, and if he wanted to turn the odds back in his favor, he'd just have to play it safe for a few turns.

"Uh... yeah." He said, looking between the two young ladies. "Uh... would you... like to have a little snack with us?" Kisara smiled and nodded her head, and so did her sister.

Mahad grinned, quite content with his spot in the game right now. He clapped his hands together, getting everyone's attention. "Great!" he said enthusiastically, "Let's take a seat." he turned over to the barkeeper, "Could we have some club sandwiches, please?"

"I'd like lemonade, please." Kisara said, taking a seat in one of the booths. Mahad instantly took the seat across from her.

"And I'll have a chocolate shake, please." Isis said. Mahad then took her hand and gently tugged her into the seat next to him. She glanced over at him and blushed as their hips connected, but still her lips curved upward into a smile.

Seto noticed that by Mahad doing this, the only seat left in the booth was next to Kisara. She seemed to notice this as well. She smiled, in an almost reassuring way, and gestured with her head for him to sit down. Seto nodded, and slid into the seat. The two looked at each other, and Seto found himself cracking a smile.

Mahad smiled as well. "Isn't this cozy?" he asked. "Boy, girl, girl, boy."

~Q.N~

For about a half an hour, the four young entertainers talked to each other about pretty much everything that came into mind. Shortly after the barkeeper made up their food, Mahad and Isis broke off into a two-person conversation with one another, able to find common ground almost immediately. It was easy for them to talk about anything from the food on their plates to their families. They were so lost in their conversation, they never noticed that their eyes were locked, and that they would move ever-so-much closer to one another at some points in their discussions. Deciding to leave the two to each other, Seto and Kisara also went into their own private conversation. For them, it was much harder to find a single topic, but there was nowhere near as much tension and hostility as their first conversation back at Novello's. And this time around, they stayed away from the big three: religion, politics, and opinions regarding morals and ethics! Small talk led to more in-depth, meaningful conversations, and the two soon found that they had more in common than they had initially thought. Even more surprising to Seto was that he found himself genuinely laughing and smiling with Kisara, and that he wasn't afraid to share facts about himself with her that he'd normally hate to share with anyone. Hell, even Mahad, in all the time they'd known each other, was unaware of some of the things he told to Kisara. As Seto was finishing telling Kisara that he and Mahad were going to Manhattan, he turned to look at Mahad and Isis. Their conversation had died down a bit, if you could call laughing hysterically at a joke one of them had probably said 'died down'.

"So, tell me." Seto said, looking at Isis, "What part of New York are you ladies going to be in? Near the Falls, or closer to the Big Apple?"

"Well, actually we're not going to New York." Kisara stated, seeing that Isis couldn't explain over her fit of giggles. "We're booked for over the holidays."

This caught Seto's attention, and he turned to fully face Kisara. "Where?" he asked. _Mahad, I swear on my mother's grave, if she answers Vermont..._

"At a ski lodge called the Millennium Inn, in Pine Tree, Vermont."

Seto slowly turned to face Mahad, who, when he noticed Seto sending him the glares of death, suddenly became very interested with something outside the window. Kisara and Isis looked between the two of them, glancing suspiciously at Mahad.

"Oh, that sounds very... very Vermont-y." Seto replied, though he never took his eyes off of Mahad. "It should be beautiful this time of the year in Vermont, all that snow and everything."

"Yeah, really beautiful." Kisara agreed.

From across the table, Isis and Mahad shared a glance, before bursting out laughing again, Isis finally catching on to what was going on. So, Mahad had at some point tried to convince Seto that they should go to Vermont, apparently. Sneaky, sneaky boy. But by the tone of Seto's voice, it sounded like the suggestion hadn't gone over so well. Well, she'd have to try and change that for Mahad.

"The fir trees, the clean pine air," Seto continued to quote Mahad, in spite of the laughing duo in front of him. The glare he had been shooting at Mahad now was also being directed at Isis. Between the body language and the spontaneous giggling, it was obvious now who had put that whole snow and fir trees bullshit up Mahad's rear. _And you, Miss Ishtar, go down yet another notch in my book._ he thought. "Brrrrr! Very beautiful, just what we need."

"Exactly!" Mahad said, extending his arms toward Seto, "Thank you; couldn't have said it better myself!"

Seeing her opportunity, Isis jumped in. "Oh, wonderful!" she exclaimed, "Could you come up for a couple of days?" Mahad looked at her, giving a disbelieving grin of approval.

Before Seto had a chance to get a word of protest in, Kisara looked up from her drink and said, "I wish you could. It would be nice to have you there with us."

Seto looked at her, eyes wide. He hadn't expected that. Kisara glanced back and smiled at him. It was a genuine, earnest smile. Check. Well, he still had a chance to turn this around and have everything work out for him. All he had to do was avoid looking at Mahad...

...as he... put his left hand over his right arm. Checkmate. Well, _shit_!

"Uh, hey ladies?" Seto said, looking between the two sisters. "Do you still want some advice?"

They looked between each other for a moment, and then nodded eagerly at Seto, Isis particularly.

"Ok, then, here's the best advice I can give you:" Seto told them, "If you ever find yourself under a falling building, and somebody runs up and offers to pick you up and carry you to safety, don't _think_, don't _pause_, don't _hesitate_ a _moment_! Just kick him in the shin. As hard as you can."

The girls shared a glance again, this time one of confusion. "Is that... a metaphor for something?" Kisara asked.

"Yeah." Seto nodded, "It means we're going to Vermont."

"Yes!" Isis and Mahad shouted simultaneously.

"Yeah, well..." Seto said, allowing himself a small smile along with everyone else, "Mokuba _did _want us to take a vacation along with the rest of the cast. What better way to take a vacation? Skiing atop of snow-covered slopes."

"Ice skating on frozen ponds." Isis supplied.

"And sleigh rides through evergreen forests decorated in white." Mahad added.

"Hot chocolate with whipped cream and warm Christmas cookies by the fireplace." Kisara continued.

"And snow." Seto finished, leaning in to look at a tourism poster for Vermont that was hanging on the wall. The others did the same. And then they began to sing.

**Seto: **_Snow!_

**Mahad: **_Snow!_

**Isis: **_Snow!_

**Kisara: **_Snow!_

**All: **_Snow!_

**Seto: **_It won't be long before we'll all be there with snow!_

**Kisara: **_Snow, snow!_

_I want to wash my hands, my face and hair with snow!_

Mahad wrapped an arm around Isis's shoulder and smiled at her.

**Mahad: **_Snow, I long to clear a path and lift a spade of snow!_

Isis smiled back at him.

**Isis: **_Snow, oh! To see a great big man entirely made of snow!_

**Seto: **_Snow! Where it's snowing, all winter through;_

_That's where I wanna be!_

**Kisara: **_Snowball throwing, that's what I'll do!_

**Isis: **_How I'm longing to ski!_

**Isis and Kisara: **_Through the_

**All: **_Snow!_

**Mahad: **_Snow!_

Mahad smiled at Kisara, and pointed towards the light blue cloth napkin next to her before picking up the white one next to him. Getting the idea, Kisara quickly unfolded her napkin as Mahad covered the condiments and salt and pepper shakers with the white napkin.

**Seto: **_Those glistening houses that seem to be built of snow!_

He then picked some segments off of a pine branch centerpiece that was supposed to look like a miniature Christmas tree, and scattered them over the 'snowy hills' that the white napkin-covered condiments created. Kisara added the backdrop with her blue napkin creating the sky.

**Kisara: **_Snow, oh! To see a mountain covered with a quilt of snow!_

**Isis and Kisara: **_What is Christmas with no snow?_

**Seto: **_No white Christmas with no_

**Mahad: **_No_

**Isis: **_Snow_

**Kisara: **_Snow_

**All: **_Snow!_

**Isis: **_I'll soon be there with snow!_

**Kisara: **_I'll wash my hair with snow!_

**Mahad: **_And with a spade of snow;_

_I'll build a man that's made of snow!_

**Seto: **_I'd love to stay up with you;_

_But I recommend a little shuteye;_

_Go to sleep;_

_And dream;_

_Of snow!_

**Mahad: **_Snow!_

**Isis: **_Snow!_

**Kisara: **_Snow!_

**All: **_Snow!_

* * *

Quite possibly the longest chapter I've written so far; wow!

But, yay, Isis and Mahad convinced Seto to go to Vermont! Quite a team, aren't they? What magical, snow-infested adverntures await them there, I wonder? Well, actually, I don't wonder; I've seen the movie! _You're _probably wondering, though, huh? Then stay tuned for the next chapter.

Okay, so to sum of the current standing in the four's relationships:

Seto: starting to figure out he's developing feelings for Kisara

Mahad: **Still** madly in love with Isis, as he probably will remain for the entire fic

Isis: Still has her crush on Mahad.

Kisara: No longer has a bad opinion of Seto (mostly thanks to Mahad for lying about him giving them the tickets), kind of likes him.

And, of course, Isis is now Mahad's partner in crime, and will be helping him to try and get Seto and Kisara together. Watch that go smoothly!

A few more things to point out: I made up how much money it takes to ride a train; I don't know. I haven't been on a train since I was four! Last I checked, Perrier is sold in glass bottles, but again, I don't know, because I don't buy it. As to why it's Perrier instead of beer, water is the easiest thing in the world to guzzle down (besides loganberry. Mmmmm... loganberry *drools*), so it would be easy for Seto to drink it in a couple of gulps the way he did. Because alcohol burns, and carbon bubbles in soda makes it difficult to drink pop like that. I also don't know if there's such a thing as club cars on trains anymore. Once again, never been on a modern day passenger train.

Oh, yeah! About the slippers that Isis and Kisara were wearing: those are real! They sell them at the Hallmark stores and some other places. I actually own a pair of them that look like tiger claws! So that's why I put them in here. As for their whole ensemble, in the movie, obviously Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen appear wearing these really nice dresses when they go to meet Bob and Phil in the club car, but obviously nowadays if something like that were to happen, then yes, they'd just quickly pull on something casual and go out. Same with Seto and Mahad wearing hoodies and jeans instead of the suits that Crosby and Kaye had to wear. Almost kind of a shame... but who cares? SLIPPERS!

I think I'll leave it at that for now. Ok.

R&R at your leisure.


	7. The Old Man and the Inn

Another short chapter for you, here. Nothing more than the midway point between this and the next chapter. Although, a very major part of the story comes into play here. Care to take a guess what, or who, it is? Well, I can't tell you just yet, so read to find out.

Miraculous as it seems, we've finally reached a chapter where I have no warnings to give! Everything's pretty normal, and stays very tight knit to the movie's plotline. So, I'll just end these author's notes short, and let you go on to read the chapter. Go on! Get outta here! Shoo! Go away, now! Onto chapter 7!

* * *

By morning, the train had made it to Vermont. After finishing their snack with the boys, Isis and Kisara left for their drawing room. Before leaving, Isis had offered the two to stay in their room with them, saying that she and Kisara could share one of the beds, and Mahad and Seto could have the other bed and the small couch. Seto wanted to agree, but his guilt (in the form of Mahad frowning at him) got the better of him, and they declined the girls offer, opting to spend the rest of the evening in the club car after all.

**"Ladies and gentlemen!**" the voice of a conductor called over the PA system throughout the train, "**We are now coming into Pine Tree, Vermont, and will arrive at the station within the next five minutes. When we arrive, we ask that...!**"

The announcement was drowned out by a knocking at Drawing Room A's door. Isis answered the door, and smiled when she saw Seto and Mahad standing outside, "Hi; good morning!" She greeted happily, standing aside to let them come in. Kisara leaned over the top bunk of the bunk bed in the room, smiling before taking a bite of a piece of toast. She was dressed in a blue, long-sleeved dress shirt and jeans. Isis was already dressed for the snow, wearing a thick faux fur hat with leopard print, black gloves, and a tan pea coat.

"Morning, ladies." Seto greeted, coming into the room with Mahad. He was wearing the same gray sweat jacket and white t-shirt he had on from last night, and a dark yellow scarf over his neck. Mahad, like Isis, was also dressed for the winter weather already, in a brown jacket, black gloves, and black hat with ear flaps hanging off it.

"How'd you sleep?" Mahad asked, walking up to Isis.

"Oh, like a baby." she replied. "I never have any trouble sleeping when I'm travelling."

"That's a talent." Seto told her as he put down his bags. "Hey, if either of you need some help with your luggage, just pass it to Snoopy over here." he said, patting Mahad on his head.

Mahad pretended to be a dog, panting before letting out a howl. The girls laughed, and Seto looked up at Kisara. "I see you wound up on top." he said. Kisara nodded. "Must've drawn the small straw. Here, I'll help you down." he extended his arms out.

"Alright." Kisara agreed, swinging her legs over the side of the bunk and letting Seto put his hands on her waist.

"Hey, come on." Mahad motioned to Isis, "Let's get some of your bags outside."

"Ok." Isis agreed, picking up two of the suitcases and carrying them out the door. Seto lifted Kisara down from the bed, but even once she was down he did not let go. They stood that way for a moment more, and Kisara giggled and looked away flustered. Looking in at the pair from the door, Mahad and Isis smiled. She turned to Mahad, and leaned towards him.

"Your strategy's a little obvious." She whispered to him. He looked at her in surprise, not that she had figured it out, but at how disappointed she sounded to him. It occurred to him then that, being the older sister, Isis might be overprotective of Kisara, and hence, uncomfortable with the idea of her in a relationship with someone. He swallowed, and gave a sheepish grin.

"You don't mind, do you?" he asked.

Isis smiled and shook her head. "Fair warning, though: she's a slow mover."

Mahad laughed. "Don't talk to me about slow; he's the record holding champion! Even _with_ my assistance he's barely going a mile an hour."

Isis chuckled. "Guess our work's cut out for us, huh?"

Mahad smirked. "Not to worry, my dear." he chided, "I was up working on a plan all night. And with your assistance, I..." he paused, noticing Seto and Kisara making their way over to the two schemers with some more bags. "Tell you later." Mahad said, quickly leading his new partner away from the scene of the crime. After the four had gotten all of their bags together, they left the room, Mahad in front. As Mahad opened the door to the next car, he looked around the outside of the train, seeing only blurs of dull greens, grays and browns passing by them. But no white.

"Hey! Hey, guys, come here!" he called over his shoulder, getting onto the next car so that the three could get a better look. "I think we took the wrong train!"

"What?" Isis was the first to pop her head through, and her eyes widened as she saw the same thing Mahad did. Everything around them was green! Where was the snow?"

"What's the matter?" Seto called from inside the car, noticing Isis and Mahad staring in shock at something outside.

"It's all green out here!" Mahad called back. Seto came out next, quickly followed by Kisara. Their eyes widened as well at the sight of a snowless Vermont.

"It looks like we're still in South Carolina." Seto commented.

A few minutes more, they pulled into the station. The party of four passed their tickets over to a conductor, confirming they were at the right stop (Mahad and Seto had exchanged their tickets to New York shortly after the girls went to bed). Mahad stepped off the train first, setting his suitcase on the ground and looking around. There wasn't even a single snowflake anywhere, and he was already sweating underneath his thick coat and hat.

"Geez, they must have grass-covered igloos up here." he remarked to himself. Turning as he heard Isis behind him.

"Here, Mahad." she said, holding out her suitcase for him to take to put next to his as she stepped off the train. She went to take back her bag, but Mahad held his hand up.

"Don't worry, I've got it." He told her, pulling up the handles for both their suitcases and wheeling them behind him.

"You sure?" Isis asked.

"Positive." he replied, smiling.

Isis smiled appreciatively, and looked around the train station as well. "Oh, this is warmer than Florida." she said, surprised.

"Where's the beach?" Seto asked sarcastically, stepping off the train.

Isis laughed. "We should have brought our bathing suits."

Seto nodded, and turned back to the train as Kisara was getting off. "Need some help?" he asked, gesturing to her luggage.

"No, I'm fine. Thanks." Kisara said, before she got off as well. They started walking away from the train, looking for the shuttle that the girls had ordered to the Millennium Inn.

Isis looked completely dumbfounded. "I know they call Vermont the green mountain state, but this is ridiculous." she said.

"Are you sure we're in the right state?" Mahad asked.

"This must be southern Vermont." Seto said.

"I just don't understand it." Isis stated, shaking her head.

"Well, let's ask the natives." Seto suggested, pointing to the information kiosk.

Kisara walked up to the man at the kiosk. "Where's all the snow?" she asked, "Doesn't Vermont usually have eight inches of it by this time of the year?"

"Yeah, strangest thing." the young man said. "We haven't had snow since Thanksgiving. The temperature's been in the 60s for two weeks now."

Isis noticed a car pull up to the station, with the words 'Millennium Inn' printed on the side of it. The driver came out a moment later and held up a sign that read 'Ishtar'.

"That's us." she said to the group, pointing over to the car. "Let's go."

"Yeah." Kisara agreed, going right after her. The girls quickly rushed over to the shuttle. Seto and Mahad lagged behind, slowed down by the extra luggage they were hauling.

Seto scoffed, "It must be wonderful up in Vermont this time of the year. All that underwear." he said to Mahad sarcastically.

Mahad chuckled. "I'm gonna have to return the ski gear I bought." he joked back.

"Where did you get that?" Seto asked.

"Next to the underwear." Mahad answered with a smirk. Seto rolled his eyes.

"Snow!" Seto sung out as he walked up to the girls. They laughed.

"Snow!" Mahad joined in.

"Snow!" Isis and Kisara followed.

"Snow!" they all chimed out.

Seto chuckled before gesturing for them to get into the shuttle. "It won't be long before we'll all be there with...!"

"-A little old snowflakes Eskimo pie!" Mahad sang out.

"Chocolate and vanilla for you and I!" Seto free-versed.

The girls laughed, and the four got into the shuttle. It took them ten minutes to get to the Inn, which was all the way out in an isolated part of the woods off a dirt road. The shuttle crossed over a wooden bridge, only big enough to fit the single car through. Across the manmade river which the bridge went over, another bridge, used for cars to exit from, could be seen. The parking lot was nothing more than a giant plot of dirt in front of the two buildings which made up the Inn. One of the buildings just looked like an old barn or grain mill that had been converted into a ski lodge, and the only indication of that would be a giant sign over the double doors that literally read, '**Ski Lodge**". The other building was clearly the Inn, which was white with a brown roof. When the shuttle stopped in front of the building's front porch, the boys got out first, telling the girls to go and check in while they got the luggage out of the car. The sisters nodded appreciatively, and went inside through the French doors.

At the front desk, they were met by an older man with long white hair, and a matching long white beard and moustache. His dark eyes looked at the two ladies as though they were the first customers he'd seen in years. He was dressed in a dark blue sweater and a white button down shirt, and old, faded looking jeans. The girls looked around the room as they entered. It looked much nicer on the inside then it did on the out. Everything was dusted off and polished. In spite of the old, rustic look the place had, everything seemed flawless. Isis went up to the desk.

"Welcome to the Millennium Inn." the older man said. "What accommodations would you like for your rooms? I can offer you a fairly wide choice: any room in the Inn, pretty much." he said the last part with some contempt.

"Actually, we're the Ishtar Sisters." Isis explained. "We're here to do the act you wanted."

"Ah, I see!" the man said. "And the two gentlemen outside? Are they with your party."

"Yes; they came up with us to see the snow." Kisara said. "Where _is _the snow, anyway?"

"Well, we take it in during the day." the man joked, extending his hand to the two. "I'm Akhenaden Hotep, co-owner of this Inn." he said, shaking hands with the two ladies, "I'm terribly sorry that you had to come all this way, but I'm afraid we won't be able to use you. We'll pay you the half salary for canceling, however, just as promised." as he said this, he got out a checkbook from inside one of the drawers in the desk.

"Well, are things really that bad?" Isis asked, surprised.

Akhenaden leaned towards them, his face very serious. "We're using the ski tow to hang wash." he said, tone just as serious as his expression. "Trust me, it would be best if you just found yourself another hotel in Pine Tree to stay at."

"Hey, girls!" Seto called, entering the foyer with two of the luggage bags under his arms. "Are we going to have to carry our luggage to our rooms, or...?" he stopped mid-sentence, noticing the man at the front desk, eyes going wide. Akhenaden did the same when he saw the young man.

"Seto?!" Akhenaden asked, completely flabbergasted.

"Captain Akhenaden?!" Seto asked in equal shock, dropping the suitcases on the ground. "What are you..?" before he could finish his inquiry, the back door behind the desk opened up, and two more men came into the room. The first to enter was an old man who looked just like Akhenaden, only his hair was shorter and more gray than white. He was wearing an indigo blue sweater and a light blue button-down shirt with gray sweat pants and muddy sneakers. He was carrying firewood in one arm, and a gas tank in another. The young man who entered behind him appeared to be in his teens, 18 at most. He was short, but just the way he looked, Seto could determine that he was older than his height would initially suggest. He had spiky, gravity-defying tri-colored hair, shaped like a star. His gold bangs, however, hung loosely over his large, round purple eyes. He body was thin and tanned, just as the two older men were. He was wearing a dull red t-shirt, and leather pants with steel-toe shoes. Around his neck was a strange chain necklace, which held up a golden pyramid shaped pendant. He was also carrying wood. Still, for all the boy's strange appearance, he wasn't the one that Seto was looking at in total shock.

"General Akhenamkhanen!" Seto exclaimed. He automatically lifted his arm in salute. "Sir."

"At ease." Akhenamkhanen said, before a smile spread across his face. "How are you, Captain?" he asked.

"I'm fine, General," Seto said, still completely floored to see his old commanding officers in front of him. "but..."

"Ah, we just like to keep the General and Captain parts quiet." Akhenaden said, nodding towards his brother.

"Why?" Seto asked, before shaking his head, "Begging your pardon sir."

"Well..."

"Well..." Akhenamkhanen said, cutting in for his brother, "to put it in one sentence, people don't expect a major general to carry firewood and a captain to work at a check-in desk." He and the boy walked to the other end of the room to put the firewood down.

Suddenly, Mahad came in with the rest of the luggage, turning to Seto. "Hey, Seto, I was just thinking..." he started, before he noticed the General and nodded towards him. "Oh, hello, General Akhenamkhanen." he greeted calmly before turning back to Seto. "I was..." He froze mid-sentence, and directed his gaze back to the General. Shocked, he dropped the bags he had been carrying, and quickly saluted.

"Private Sehhr, sir!" he exclaimed.

Akhenamkhanen blinked, once more surprised to see another one of his former men. "At ease, Sehhr." he said. Mahad's hand slowly slid from his face, gazing in disbelief at the man who had been like a father to him in the army. "General Akhenamkhanen..." he murmured, "a janitor!"

Akhenamkhanen smirked. "Never thought I'd make it, huh?" he asked in good spirit, turning around to pass the firewood in his arms to the boy, who had already put his on the floor.

"Oh, Yes, sir, Sir!" Mahad stuttered quickly, "You can do anything you put your mind to, Sir! But ...a janitor?!"

"Matter-of-fact it's worse than that." Akhenamkhanen said, "I own half of this hotel."

"A landlord." Mahad immediately corrected himself.

"He got it in a shrewd business move." Akhenaden stated sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

Akhenamkhanen chuckled at this; his brother had tried to talk him out of it initially. He still held a bit of resent. Still, he stuck by him through the ordeal, which was more than he could have asked for from him. "If I start the introductions," Akhenamkhanen said, "can I get to meet these young ladies?" he asked, smiling knowingly at Seto and Mahad. He walked over to the front desk and stood next to his brother. The boy followed him over.

"Sure, General." Seto agreed.

"Well, you remember my brother, Akhenaden." he said, gesturing to his brother behind the desk. Then he turned to the boy and nodded. "And this is my son, Atem." Atem smiled and nodded at them. "I'd introduce you to my wife, but she and my sister-in-law are currently taking their annual trip to Europe. I think this year, they're touring Italy."

"Greece, Dad." Atem corrected.

"Oh, right." Akhenamkhanen agreed. "Thank you, Atem."

"Well, we're the Ishtar Sisters." Kisara said, looking at Isis and back to the General.

"Your floor show." Her sister added.

"Don't worry." Akhenamkhanen said to his brother, "I've already told them we'd have to cancel."

Akhenamkhanen frowned. "Why?" he asked, "He have a floor, don't we?"

"Last I checked, anyway." Akhenamkhanen agreed reluctantly, "But who are they going to sing to? The ghosts of customers past?"

"Ghosts need entertainment, too." the General said, "But even if it's only to the three of us, it'll be well worth it. Besides, there'll be six inches of snow tonight. We'll be full up tomorrow."

"Is that the weather forecast?" Kisara asked excitedly.

"Well, no," the General confessed, "but if there's one thing I learned in the army, it was to be positive. Especially when you don't know what you're talking about." Everyone in the room shared a quick laugh.

"General Akhenamkhanen," Isis said, "we want you to know that you don't need to feel obligated. I mean, since there's no snow..."

"Nonsense, my dear; we've made a contract." Akhenamkhanen assured her, "Your first performance is tonight at eight. Be there or I'll sue." he said with a wink.

"Here." Akhenaden said, tapping his brother's shoulder. He turned around, noticing a brown paper bag filled with food. The General smiled meekly at the bag, before taking it and turning back to his guests.

"Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen." he said, "I have to restock the kitchen pantries."

"Yes, Sir!" Seto and Mahad chorused and saluted, before the General turned and walked towards the door he came in through.

* * *

Oh, my! Seto and Mahad's old army general and captain have arrived on the scene. General Akhenamkhanen! God, his name's always such a mouthful! It's even worse when you have to type it! But for now I'll just leave you in utter joy of the fact that Atem actually appears in this fic. I know how much people love the main characters of ANY story! That's the one good thing about being different; you give attention to the poor, neglected and unloved minor characters, like the ones from the Millennium World arc! It feels good to love things that no one else does; more loving for you!

Also, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH ! There's no snow! In Vermont! In December! That makes Vermont... Buffalo, New York! No seriously! We never actually get snow in New York until AFTER Christmas! That whole stereotype about Buffalo having bad blizzards year round is so untrue! We had ONE bad blizzard in the 80s, and then the October Storm in 2006, but otherwise, the weather's just shitty in a non-life-threatening cataclysmic way! I mean, it didn't snow AT ALL last year! It's been green here now for almost two years! Don't talk about Buffalo's snow. You can say that our diet is entirely composed of chicken wings and buffalo burgers, because that's partly true, but NOT that it snows here 24/7

Nothing else to say; I'm hungry. There's nothing to eat in my house that won't take half an hour to make at the moment. I can't sleep. My dog is awesome. i want reviews for this story, as well as my others, but mostly this one... ignore me, I'm sleep-depraved.

R&R at your leisure.


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